This is Sickness
by Zweee
Summary: 10Rose Rose suffers from a deadly ailment. How far will the Doctor go to save the woman he... dare he say loves? Possible fluff. Now Complete. I can't believe I wrote such a sappy summary. Yuk.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This story doesn't have a specific time period. It probably happens after the Satin's Pit but I havn't decided. The time period is not really that important. This is my first fan fic so it might be complete rubbish.

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or any recognizable characters. If that bothers you don't read this.

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Rose ignored the first signs that something was not right. She awoke one morning to discover that her right arm was numb. Assuming that she had just slept on it, she flexed her fingers to get the circulation going. It seemed to help so she hopped out of bed.

The doctor had promised her a trip to Alphus Primion. Apparently it was an asteroid that was one large shopping center. The Doctor hated shopping but after her favorite shoes had eaten by a furry chameleon thing on their last adventure he had agreed to take her. She first noticed the tremor in her hand as she went to apply her mascara. Annoyed, she switched to using her left hand. It wasn't the best looking application of mascara but it would do.

Rose wandered into the consol room where the Doctor was, of course, tinkering. "You ready to go?" she asked.

"Go..huh..?" He feigned ignorance.

"You promised me new shoes. You aren't getting out of it."

The Doctor muttered something incomprehensible.

"Fine," Rose stated. "I'll just go without you. You know wander around an alien planet….on my own…with no one to keep me out of trouble. Who knows I may meet some handsome bloke and then you'll be rid of me."

"Asteroid."

"Huh?"

"It's not a planet its an asteroid. You apes can never tell the simple atmospheric differences between asteroids and planets."

"Doctor, it is a chunk of rock floating in space. Anyway I'm going. Bye."

Rose was out the door in a flash. She knew that he would not be able to resist the urge to follow her but she just wanted to let him know that she was willing to do things without him. She walked quickly down what seemed to be a street. It was an odd sort of street. It was wavy and instead of intersections the streets seemed to merge and then branch out.

Rose had only just lost sight of the TARDIS when the pain hit. One minute she was walking along and in a moment she was consumed in pain. She doubled over, clutching at her stomach. There was loud hum in her ears. Rose clawed her way to a nearby bench and sat, head between her knees. She concentrated on breathing and slowly the pain subsided until it was only a slight twinge. The ringing in her ears died with the pain.

"Hey this is no time for a nap Rose Tyler. We have some serious shopping to do."

Rose looked up to see the Doctor standing over her, his hands in the pockets of his brown suit. It appeared that he had attempted to comb his hair before following her but it still had a spiky, tousled look. Tousled and sexy.

"You okay Rose?" His grin had slipped slightly, turning to concern.

"Yah, fine," Rose answered. She knew that if she told him about the sudden pain he would whisk her back to the med bay and that would be the end of shopping. He was not getting out of it that easily.

The rest of the trip passed without incident. The excitement of an alien mall quickly pulled Rose away from any thoughts of phantom pains. She found an odd pair of shoes that changed color every thousand steps. The doctor complained about them being terribly overpriced but then Rose reminded him that he had unlimited credit and he shut up about it.

A wave of exhaustion hit Rose as they returned to the TARDIS at the end of the day. She suddenly felt dizzy. For an instant the interior of the TARDIS went blurry and then everything was back to normal.

"Earth to Rose…."

"Huh?" she answered."

"I was asking if you wanted to watch a movie. It is early still."

"You know Doctor I think I'm gonna go have a shower and go to bed. I'm a bit tired."

"Suit yourself," and with that he wandered off.

Rose did not sleep especially well that night which made her extremely crabby the next day. Her mood was not improved when she discovered once again that she could not apply her mascara with her right hand. She gave up on make-up completely and wandered out into the consol room.

The Doctor was underneath the consol fiddling with something.

"Hey Rose, could you pass me that bunch of wire?"

She complied and set down on the floor above. Neither of them spoke except when he asked her to pass him things. He finally finished with his repairs and moved to sit down next to her.

"Is something up, Rose?"

"No."

"Good because I had a great idea of where we should go next. You see there is this planet just next to the Jagget Brigade that has an economy solely reliant on selling ice cream. Can you imagine a million different flavors? You are going to love it." The Doctor jumped about pushing random buttons. The TARDIS began to move. They were off.

A few hours later Rose and the Doctor were bursting through the doors of the TARDIS, panting from running.

"Ok so I got the coordinates a little tiny bit off," commented the Doctor after he had caught his breath. "And who would have thought they would be so sensitive about that Renji guy. He is clearly a Notorian not a demigod. They acted like they had never seen anybody levitate before. I mean really…."

While the Doctor was rambling on he failed to realize that Rose was in trouble. She was still lying on the floor where they had collapsed when they came in. Each breath was becoming more difficult than the last. She tried to sit up but the movement only caused her to go into a fit of hacking coughs. The taste of iron caused her to put a finger to her lips. She was surprised to discover blood. She had only enough air to say one word before the blackness took her.

"Doctor!"

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A/N Well that wasn't so bad. Please review. Be nice although I welcome constructive critisism.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I suppose it is lucky that I have a really boring job that allows me to have lots and lots of time to goof off on my laptop because then I have time to write. So I suppose any delays with posting the next chapters will be due to writer's block and not to a lack of time. Anyway where was I…oh yah Rose was in dire peril and the Doctor didn't notice cuz he was shooting off his gob.

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. This piece of fiction's only purpose is to entertain oh and waste time.

"Doctor!"

The strangled cry awoke The Doctor from his rambling. He glanced over to the source of the noise. The sight of Rose lying on her back with blood on her lips caused both of his hearts to jump. He quickly knelt beside her.

"Rose!" She wasn't breathing. His hearts made another jump. She was going to die if he did not do something quickly. He groped in his pockets for the sonic screwdriver. _Oh where is it? This is not the time for large pockets, _he thought. The TARDIS made a humming noise and he looked up to see the sonic screwdriver on the side of the consol. He grabbed it and began to scan Rose. How much time had he wasted? Thirty seconds? A whole minute? How much longer could Rose go without oxygen before her heart ceased to beat?

The scans revealed that her throat had swelled, causing her epiglottis to close off her trachea and with it her air supply. It appeared to be some kind of allergic reaction and she needed treatment immediately. The Doctor picked her up and ran to the medical bay. In what seemed like an eternity, the Doctor laid his precious burden on a gurney and scrambled through drawers. He finally pulled out a vile and filled a syringe with the yellow liquid. _Hold on Rose. Just a few more seconds, _he begged silently. With bated breath he injected the fluid directly into her veins. And then he waited.

One second. "Please," he murmered.

Two seconds, three, then four and nothing happened.

"Just give me this one. I can't lose her." The anguish in his voice echoed throughout the room.

Five seconds and then the figure on the table gasped. The Doctor released the breath he did not know he had been holding. Her breathing returned to normal and her eyes fluttered open.

"Doctor," she muttered.

"Shh. Don't talk. Just breathe." Subconsciously, he reached out a hand to stroke her hair.

"Wha…what happened?" Her voice was very weak.

The Doctor sighed. What was it with his companions that made them never listen? 'Don't talk' meant don't talk; she needs to save her breath for important things like say breathing. "I'm not sure exactly, Rose. You had a very odd reaction to something and stopped breathing. Lucky for you, you travel with an alien doctor who has superior alien medicine." His voice dropped, "I'm not sure human medicine would have saved you." For a moment he stopped stroking her hair and stared directly into her eyes. After a few seconds he looked away. "Anyway," he continued, "I should really run some tests to find out what caused the reaction. We don't want that to happen again. You scared ten years off of me and I could really do without the grey hairs."

"No," Rose cried as she reached out and grabbed his hand. He turned back towards her. Slowly she reached up and brushed a tear from his cheek. Shocked, he pulled back, he stared at his tear now resting gently on Rose's finger. "Scans can wait," she continued. She sat up and carefully wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a warm embrace. He closed his arms around her protectively and returned the hug.

Rose was not allowed to get up until the Doctor had thoroughly scanned her. "I'm not getting anything conclusive," he said. "Odd sort of allergy that would cause your throat to swell but not the rest of your face. And I still do not have an explanation for the blood."

"I'm fine really. I've got things to do," whined Rose. She was not overly fond of doctors, well at least not the medical kind, and she did not like being fussed over.

"Fine," sighed the Doctor as he pulled away from the computer screen. "Just no overexerting yourself. That means staying out of trouble, which is a fairly simple thing to do for normal people; you on the other hand…" He glared at her to make his point.

She returned his stare with an innocent smile and sauntered out of the room. The doctor returned to his screen, hoping to find something that he missed.

Despite her display of nonchalance in front of the Doctor, Rose was very shaken by her sudden attack. She had decided to actually listen to his advice and take it easy. She made a bag of popcorn (extra buttery) and settled down on a couch in the den. Wrapping a cozy pink blanket around her, Rose turned on the T.V. The TARDIS had decided to put on _The Titanic_ and Rose wasn't going to complain. She needed a good chick flic right about now.

The Doctor wandered in just as the Titanic was breaking in half and sinking into the sea. "If you wanted to see the Titanic sink all you would have had to do is ask me and we could have watched it for real.

Rose chuckled, "Do you honestly think that I am watching this movie because I want to see some big old ship sink beneath the waves? Hah."

"Oh you and your lovey dovey movies," he replied.

"So you have never sat down and enjoyed a good love story?"

"Nope. Love is such an annoying emotion. It causes all sorts of irregularities in the brain, the side effects being oh irrational behavior, constant worry and not to mention the butterflies." He faltered when he saw Rose's raised eyebrows. "Not that I know anything about that," he continued.

"No I suppose not," muttered Rose. She grabbed another handful of popcorn.

"Is there something wrong with your hand?" The Doctor was looking at her right hand, which was shaking quite vigorously.

Rose dropped it back into the bowl of popcorn. "Nothing," she answered, her voice a bit too casual.

"Oh let me look at it." He moved towards her, gently grabbing her arm.

Rose moved back, pulling her arm out of his grip. "Really, Doctor it's nothing," she repeated.

"I just want to make sure you are okay. The shaking could be a side effect from the reaction."

"Its not," blurted Rose.

"Huh?"

"I mean…I'm tired that's all. I should go to bed. I'll be fine tomorrow," Rose assured him as she made her way to the door.

The Doctor frowned but let her leave. Something was wrong. He knew that Rose was keeping something from him.

A/N. Well that is it for that chapter. Feel free do review.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Well I just want to thank everybody for the wonderful reviews. Keep them up. I am just shocked that there are people enjoying my writing. It gives me a nice fuzzy feeling. Hehehe. Ok time to put fuzzy feeling aside and get down to business. Quick recap: Rose nearly died from what seemed to be an allergic reaction. The Doc saved her but now she is not being completely honest about all of her symptoms. Which I must say is fairly dumb on her part. He is a Doctor after all. If she did, however, come clean right away the story would end rather quickly and I doubt all of you want that. Right, you don't want to listen to my commentary. You want the next chapter.

Disclaimer: Don't own Doctor Who or any characters.

After Rose retired to her room, the Doctor paced the halls of the TARDIS restlessly. He needed time to think so he pulled the TARDIS out of the vortex and landed on Bipole. It was a sparsely inhabited planet that suffered from sudden and violent shifts on weather patterns. Judging by the pattering of falling water heard over the engines he guessed it was the rainy season. The thirsty rivers would swell and flood the dry land.

The stormy weather reflected his frustration. He was missing something important about Rose's symptoms. What caused a partial allergic reaction and a tremor? And blood? The memory of her lying so pale on the gurney with blood on her lips was almost unbearable. With renewed determination, the Doctor returned to the med lab to review the scans once again. There was nothing particularly unusual about the scans. There were high levels of adrenaline and lactic acid but that is fairly normal considering they had been running for their lives.

Carefully, the Doctor reviewed that morning's events in his mind. He had planned to take her for ice cream but he landed a bit off course. Really it was only a couple thousand light years. They came across an isolated colony of humans on a small moon. Somehow, a Notorian had managed to convince the population that he was some sort of god and the people took it as some kind of insult when he tried to explain this. He suddenly recalled that Rose had been slow from the beginning. Instead of bounding next to him with her usual youthful vigor she had lagged behind, just in front of the angry mob. _So the reaction must have started during or before the chase, _he mused.

Rose felt jumpy. She had first felt the tingle down her spine as she got out of the shower. The hairs on the back of her neck straightened. Someone was looking at her. She turned around to find a wall. Shaking her head, Rose began to dry herself off. The same feeling came again when she bent over to retrieve a pillow that had fallen on the floor. This time she thought she could hear a tinkling laugh but it was gone as she turned around. She considered going to find the Doctor but quickly dismissed that plan. She knew what his solution would be: more tests. Hesitantly, Rose crawled beneath the blankets and switched off her lamp. She closed her eyes and waited for sleep.

And then she heard it: the laughter. She sat upright only to realize she was no longer in her bed. She had been lying in a haystack.

"Whacha doin' there, silly?"

Rose looked up. A small blonde child with large blue eyes stared down at her. "Wh..where am I?" Rose asked.

The girl made no reply but continued to stare down at her. Rose tried again, "Who are you?"

No reply.

"Well I guess that makes this a dream," she muttered.

At this the small child spun around in a whirl of colors and ran into a ominous bunch of trees.

"Wait," cried Rose, "It isn't safe in there!" She ran after the girl. It seemed important that she catch up. The trees grew larger and more threatening as she ran after the laughter. She turned to look behind, only to realize that she could no longer see where the path she had followed. She looked in front only to see the trees closing in on her. She couldn't breathe. The trees were too close.

And then she saw an opening and took it. She ran with a speed never before reached by her frail human body. The trees began to thin out and still she ran. She didn't stop until the trees were far behind her. After collapsing onto the soft earth Rose heard the laughter. She looked up to see a beautiful pond. The small girl, perched on a rock in the center, reached out her hand, beckoning her to come forward.

Rose stumbled to her feet and reached out to the child. If only she could touch her. Rose waded into the glistening water, reaching out…

The Doctor felt a sudden sense of urgency. He needed to know what was wrong with Rose and it couldn't wait. A more thorough analysis was required. He needed to draw some blood and run more tests. He needed to ask Rose what she had eaten and when the symptoms had started. He cursed his negligence. Normally he would have done all of this automatically. Under normal circumstances he would be running through possible ailments in his mind instead of staring at the limp, cold form lying on the gurney. Even after she had recovered, the Doctor could barely process the relief that she was safe and alive. He wouldn't have to be alone again. He needed her safe.

He wandered through the halls towards Rose's room. She was not going to be happy with him but it was for her own good. He paused when he saw that her door was ajar. Slowly he poked his head into the dark room.

"Rose," he called.

No answer.

"Rose, I'm sorry but you need to wake up." He walked over to the bed only to find it empty. A quick look in her bathroom showed that she wasn't there either. He wandered into the hall, having decided to go check in the kitchen, but stopped suddenly. He felt a breeze on his face. _The TARDIS should not have a draught,_ he thought. Following the source of the breeze, the Doctor found himself in the consol room. His breath suddenly caught in his throat at what he saw.

The doors of the TARDIS were wide open, buffeted by the rain and heavy winds.

A/N: Well that looks like a good place to end this chappy. Hehehe Don't you just love cliffhangers. Anyway the next chapter is very important so I expect it will be longer and harder to write so don't expect it very soon. Actually I have family coming for Thanksgiving so I don't see me finishing the next chapter until after the weekend. That gives you lots of time to review.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Hi. Well I finally got around to writing the next chapter. Thanx for all the reviews. They helped keep me sane while my family was visiting.**

The Doctor ran through the night, raindrops pelting his brown suit. He scanned the ground in front of him for any sign that Rose had been there. He found a footprint close to a small shrub. Its branches had prevented the rain from washing the imprint away completely. _She isn't even wearing shoes, _thought the Doctor. _Does she want to freeze to death?_ By now his clothes were completely soaked through but he ignored the icy wind, pressing on through the darkness.

The child continued to beckon to Rose. Rose reached out, coming closer and closer. The water now reached the hem of her nightgown. Rose halted, unsure.

"Come," said the child. Her perfect face contorted into a pout, her eyes pleading. "I can show you peace. Come just a little farther."

Rose took another step.

The Doctor was quickly becoming frantic. At least a half hour had passed since he had found the doors of the TARDIS open and still he had not found Rose. He called her name but he could barely hear his own voice over the howls of the wind. The storm was becoming more violent with every passing minute. He stopped to look at his surroundings. The landscape was bare except for the odd small shrub. The earth beneath his feet was sandy and not for the rain Rose's tracks would be easy to follow. It was unlikely that she had taken shelter because there was none to be had. Besides whatever had driven Rose into this violent storm was acting against her better judgment.

He resumed his search, shouting her name against the wind.

"Why do you hesitate?" The child stared at Rose with wild, questioning eyes. "What holds you back? I see nothing to tie you to this world. Come with me. You will not be disappointed."

Rose stopped. Something nagged at her subconscious. She was forgetting something or someone. "I can't."

The small girl's eyes flashed. "You have a keeper."

Confused, Rose answered, "A keeper?"

The girl spread her arm over the clear water and an image appeared on the surface. It showed a man in a brown suit. His face and body were young but his eyes were old and full of pain and heartache. Rose reached out to the man. He was vaguely familiar, like a dream that cannot quite be remembered.

"He protects you out of honor," the girl continued, her voice like fire and ice. "You are only an obligation, nothing more. He does not care for you like I do." The image in the water changed to show the man kissing a blonde woman in a beautiful old-fashioned dress. It changed again to show him laughing with a middle aged woman with brown hair." These images brought odd emotions. She felt angry, hurt, and even jealous. The images disappeared and once more the sweet child held out her hand, beckoning.

Rose returned the gesture by reaching out her own hand. They were so close. Just a little further and they would be touching. Suddenly a voice broke the silence.

"ROSE!"

In an instant the small girl and the lake disappeared and Rose landed back into reality. The fog in her mind lifted, showing her true surroundings. She looked behind her to see the panic-stricken face of the Doctor. Rain was plastering the hair to head. He stood on the shore of a raging river. She looked down only to realize she was standing up to her bellybutton in the same river. The water surged around her, causing her to sway unsteadily.

"Doctor," she gasped. The chill in the wind had stolen her breath.

"Rose," he answered, his fear causing his voice to waver. "You need to walk back to me, slowly." He held out his arm to her.

Rose lurched forward but was unable to keep her balance against the raging current. Her breath was forced from her lungs as the water carried her away.

The Doctor watched in slow motion as Rose dipped beneath the raging flood. His body responded without being told to. Before he knew it he was running along the riverbank watching for Rose's head to reappear. She bobbed to the surface ten feet in front of him before slipping beneath again. He ran faster but he could not meet the velocity of the current. He searched the water frantically for a glimpse of Rose. His eyes scanned back and forth and they finally found her clinging to a large log that had gotten wedged between two large boulders. The current buffeted her against the rocks like a rag doll.

Within seconds the Doctor caught up to Rose. Not sure if she could even hear him he called out to her. "Rose, hold on! I'm coming." She was only ten or fifteen feet from the shore. Jumping from rock to rock he made his way to his struggling companion. He managed to straddle the log and inch his way closer, his hand outstretched. His firm fingers clasp around her freezing wet hand but he held on for dear life. For her life. The log shifted, smashing his leg between it and the rock. He felt the snapping of bone as he lost his balance, plunging him into the icy water. Both he and Rose were swept away by the current.

The Doctor clung to Rose's hand as he fought to keep them both afloat. Again and again he came within feet of the riverbank only to be torn away from his goal. He could barely see or breathe. The only thing grounding him to reality was his grip on Rose's hand. He had to save her. With renewed strength, the Doctor made one last attempt to reach the shore. If he failed they would both drown. He caught a boulder as they floated past. Pulling Rose up next to him, he focused his energy for the swim too shore. His goal was barely ten feet away. Hoping the water became shallower he plunged towards the shoreline. He was rewarded with sand and pebbles beneath his feet.

Rose stumbled onto the shore next to him. They collapsed in a heap, both sputtering and coughing up water. The Doctor was vaguely aware that he still had a death grip on Rose's hand. "We need to find shelter," he said between gasps.

Rose tried to answer but found she didn't have the breath. Instead a weak moan passed her lips. The Doctor wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Slowly she felt the air return to her lungs. "Okay," she murmured. After dragging herself upright she turned to see the Doctor fall to the ground, his face contorted in pain. Rose knelt next to him.

"What's wrong, Doctor?"

He paused before answering her. "My leg is broken."

She nodded. Placing her hands under his shoulders and with strength previously unknown to her, Rose hauled the Doctor to his feet. Leaning heavily on her, the Doctor walked forward.

"Which way is the TARDIS?" she asked.

He shook his head. "The current was very strong. It carried us a long way down river. We are miles away. Even the landscape has changed. Look." He gestured to the nearby trees and boulders. "Plus we are on the wrong side of the river. We need a place out of the rain until morning."

"What about over there?" Rose pointed to two large rocks to their left. One rested on the other, creating a roof. A smaller boulder made a wall on one side, leaving only one side open to the elements.

"That will have to do," the Doctor answered.

The small enclave proved to be big enough for both of the sodden companions. They collapsed in a shivering heap, safe from the downpour.

The Doctor stirred himself. "We need a fire."

"Huh?" replied Rose.

"Rose you need to be strong for just a little while longer. We are going to freeze to death if we do not get dry. I need you to go gather something to burn."

Rose turned to look at him. "Where am I going to find dry wood?"

The Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket. "It doesn't need to be dry."

With a sigh Rose went out into the darkness. She returned a few minutes later dragging two large pieces of driftwood. A short time later, the Doctor had a crackling fire inside the little enclosure. The wood burned with a dark purple glow.

After fiddling about with his broken leg the Doctor removed all his soaked clothing except his boxers, laying his suit next to the fire to dry. Despite her exhaustion, Rose found herself staring. The flickering fire cast shadows on the contours of his body. She realized that he was watching her gaze. She looked up into his eyes and they sat staring at each other, frozen. He looked away and she resumed her violent shivering.

"Come over here," he beckoned, arms open.

Rose crawled into his embrace.

"You should take this off," he commented, clasping at the sleeve of her nightgown.

"What!"

"Well," he explained, "you need to remove any wet articles of clothing to prevent any further exposure."

"Doctor," Rose blushed as she continued, "I'm not wearing a bra."

"Well you can be cold and modest or dry and well um…" he stammered, looking for the right word.

"Oh all right." Rose whipped off her nightshirt and laid it next to his suit. Somehow none of her fantasies of being half naked with the Doctor had turned out quite like this.

"I'm not looking, I swear," the Doctor continued to stammer. "I mean why would I. You're only a human after all. There isn't anything particularly physically interesting about your species."

"Doctor," Rose said between gritted teeth, "I suggest you quit while you are ahead."

"Good point."

Rose lay down with her back to him. Tentatively he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him. "Are you warmer now?" he asked.

Her shivering had subsided slightly. "Yes," she answered.

"Good."

They lay there, only the crackling of the fire and the pounding of the rain broke up the night. Finally Rose broke the silence. "Doctor?"

"Hmmm," he murmured sleepily.

"Thank you."

He reached down, enclosing one of her hands in his. He squeezed it gently.

The Doctor stayed awake long after that, listening to the sound of Rose's breathing. She had long since fallen asleep when he reached down and lightly brushed his lips to her forehead.

**A/N Well that is it for this chappie. Please review. I only feel like writing if I get lots of reviews. That doesn't mean you only have to say nice stuff. Be honest.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Well I just want to thank everyone who has been keeping up with this story and reviewing. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who…sniff.**

Rose awoke to a buzzing and a blue light in her eyes. She swatted at the light.

"Rose stop that. This is important." The light disappeared and the Doctor's slightly blurry head came into view. Rose tried to focus on his eyes but they looked fuzzy. She blinked several times and his face became clear.

"What's wrong Rose?" he asked, his voice full of concern as he resumed pointing the sonic screwdriver in her face. Rose found that she was slightly disappointed that he had his suit back on.

"Nothing is wrong," she sighed and turned away from him. It was then that she realized he had covered her with his now completely dry trench coat. She pulled the coat higher over her naked shoulders. Outside the sun had risen and the rain had depleted to a light drizzle. Despite the Doctor's coat and a crackling fire Rose shivered uncontrollably.

A chuckle issued from the man behind her. "Nothing wrong? Now we both know that is not true. Miles from the TARDIS, you in your jim jams and me with a broken leg. Yep, I would say it's a pretty normal day for us."

Rose smiled turning back to face him. "Yah well you have a habit of getting innocent ol' me into trouble."

"Oi," he answered, "I wasn't the one who decided to go for a little midnight stroll in the rain. If it wasn't for you I would probably be strolling down the streets of New Manchester."

She cocked her head to one side. "Wasn't it the officials of New Manchester that threatened to cut off your ears if you ever set foot there again?"

"Ah well," he stammered, "that small misunderstanding was completely out of my control. Besides that was when my ears were quite a bit larger."

"You were just lucky I was there to bail you out," she smirked. Sitting up, Rose reached for her nightgown next to the fire. The Doctor grabbed it first and passed it to her. He then turned around to let her get dressed.

Staring into the purple flames, he murmured, "We were quite I team back then, eh?"

Startled, Rose responded, "I thought we still are a great team Doctor"

"So did I," he answered. At her look of confusion he continued, "You used to trust me Rose." He turned back to face her. Now dressed in her nightgown, Rose was trying to comb her hair with her fingers. The Doctor winced as his broken leg was jostled.

Rose furled her brow in concern. "Can't you do anything about your leg?"

"Well if we were in the TARDIS I could have this fixed in a jiffy, but out here I have to do it the old fashioned way. A simple splint will have to do," he answered as he reached down to examine his leg.

"You can't just use the sonic screwdriver?"

The Doctor gave her the you-just-dribbled-on-your-shirt look. "Rose when was the last time you saw a doctor use a screwdriver to fix a broken bone. Really you apes have the weirdest ideas. Its amazing you survive for so long."

"Well I've never seen a screwdriver used for starting a fire either," she countered.

Together the Doctor and Rose made a splint for his leg. Except for his instructions to her they spoke very little. When they had finished the Doctor stood up and tested his weight on it. His attempt at hiding the pain was unsuccessful.

"Doctor we can always wait here another day or so. There isn't much to eat but we can manage…yeah?"

"Nah I'll be fine. We need to get back as soon as possible."

Rose was not willing to give in without a fight. "Doctor, I really think we should wait a day."

"I could wait a day, yes, but you can't. The first thing I'm doing when we get back to the TARDIS is marching you down to the med bay."

Rose rolled her eyes and sighed, "I'm fine. I just…"

"Don't lie to me," he interrupted, his voice cold and firm. Rose found she could not meet his gaze. His voice softened, "Please just let me take care of you. You make it so hard for me sometimes with your running off all the time." Rose looked back at him and saw a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"Well I just like to keep you on your toes. I don't want you going senile on me."

"Hey," he tried to shove her but in doing so lost his balance, falling on top of her. They both started giggling.

Rose's laughter soon turned into a fit of coughing. Fear began to rise in her chest as she struggled to breathe.

"Don't panic, Rose, just breathe." She struggled to obey his instructions. He rubbed her back and slowly the fit passed and her breathing returned to normal. The Doctor's face was full of worry as he wiped the tears from her eyes and placed his trench coat around her shoulders. "We need to leave now," he said and for the first time Rose did not argue.

The journey back to the TARDIS was long and hard on both travelers. Rose had no shoes and though they traveled mostly along the sand bank of the river, the odd stick or rock cut her feet badly. She made no comment of this for the Doctor's pain was far worse than hers. He had to lean heavily on Rose for support, each step agony. For hours they struggled forward, talking little. They crossed at the first opportunity and the river, though still fast, was not as powerful as the night before. The Doctor could hear Rose's breathing become more ragged as the day wore on. The extra exertion of keeping him upright was wearing on her weakened lungs. He prayed silently that they would reach the TARDIS soon. Rose no longer tried to hide the uncontrollable shaking of her right hand. The Doctor was in too much pain to comment on it anyway.

They reached the TARDIS just as the last rays of sunlight dipped below the horizon. Both collapsed in a heap on a gurney in the med bay. After a few moments the Doctor stirred himself. His work had only just begun.

**A/N: Well that chapter didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to. Oh well. I have to go catch the plot bunnies before I write the next one. To my utter annoyance my Canadian accent sneaked its way into the dialogue. An invisible cookie to anyone who can point it out. Don't forget to review.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Hi. I didn't think I would get this chappy up so soon cuz I was suffering from writer's block. I just sat down and started typing and it evolved into… well you will see. This chapter gets a bit scary so if that bothers you don't read it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.**

Rose desperately wanted to go have a bath and change into a different set of pajamas but the Doctor would not let her leave. She tried to sneak away while he reset his leg and used a bone regenerator. "Sit," he said firmly without looking up. Rose sighed and settled herself on the gurney.

After several minutes the Doctor closed up the bone regenerator. "There," he said, walking up and down to test his leg, "As good as new, well almost. Now I can move on to you."

Rose put on the best pouty face she could muster.

The Doctor was completely unfazed. "Don't give me that look Rose. After 900 years of time and space I'm immune." Putting on his glasses, the Doctor thoroughly scanned Rose with the sonic screwdriver.

Rose smiled. "Well it was worth a try."

A grin twitched in the corners of the Doctor's lips as he turned to a computer screen to analyze the readings. The grin was soon replaced with concern as he stared at the screen.

"Is something wrong?" Rose asked. Tension built up in her chest.

"Slight increase in neural activity, inflammation of the lungs, internal temperature is up a bit hmmm," he mused, mostly to himself.

"Well that doesn't sound to serious," Rose sighed in relief. "You had me worried for a second there."

"The problem is Rose, that I still can't find the what is causing these symptoms."

"Well I just about drowned in a freezing cold river last night and then I spent the night in a drafty cave. I'm bound to get a fever. I wouldn't be surprised if I spent the next week drowning in Kleenex," Rose huffed.

"That also concerns me. Your immune system will already be weakened when whatever this ailment is decides to come in full force. Which brings us back to why were you in the river in the first place?" His eyes searched her face questioningly.

Rose faltered for an explanation. "I dunno really. I was in this field… there was a girl. She wanted me to come with her. It's all kinda hazy now."

"Hmmm, was it a dream or a symptom," he mused aloud. Looking at Rose he asked, "You don't happen to be harboring any subconscious desires to drown yourself?" At her look of confusion he continued, "Of course if they were subconscious you wouldn't be aware of them. Maybe we should drop in and visit Freud. Nice man, even if he did steal most of his theories from me."

"Doctor, I assure you that I am not suicidal."

"You don't need to be ashamed to talk about it," he interrupted. "Those thoughts can come to the best of us. Before I met you…" His voice trailed off.

"What Doctor?"

He looked back at the screen. "You're right that was an outlandish theory. I need to take some blood and then you can head off to bed. It will take me some time to run all the tests."

Rose nodded.

After taking a vial of blood, the Doctor scooted Rose off to her room. She did not require much prodding. He stared at the doorway long after she was out of sight.

_Before I met you I had no reason to live,_ he thought.

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDDWDWDW

Rose had turned into a prune long before she got out of the bathtub. The water had been so soothing to her sore muscles. She had not realized how many bruises she had sustained when she had been dashed against the rocks. After toweling herself off, Rose wrapped herself in a big, fluffy, pink robe. She started to blow dry her hair but quickly ran out of energy. Still in her robe, she crawled beneath the soft blankets and drifted into sleep.

Something roused her into the grips of consciousness. She glanced around her room. The lights, though dimmed, still illuminated the room. Eire shadows flickered on the walls. Deciding that it was the lights that had caused her to awake early she got up to turn it off.

As soon as her feet hit the floor something grabbed her ankle from under the bed. She tried to scream but a hand closed over her mouth. She struggled against her captors but many small hands grasped at her legs and arms. A hideous face loomed in front of her. Pot-marked and wrinkled the figure leaned forward and whispered in her ear. The language was unfamiliar. Syllables rolled off his stinking tongue like sludge.

Rose gagged at the smell of his breath his breath, like rotting flesh. Tears rolled from her eyes. Where was the Doctor? Why was he not here? A terrifying thought crossed her mind; what if he wasn't here because he couldn't be. What if they had him to? What if he was dead? No he would regenerate. Wouldn't he?

With arms and legs pinned to her sides she felt herself being lifted and moved. The ceiling of the TARDIS flashed overhead. All the while the hideous voice spoke in her ear. Her vision reeled and she knew she would be sick. _Good, _said the rational side of her brain,_ I hope I puke all over them._ Now was not really the time to have a conversation with her self. She needed to escape.

She heard a buzzing and then a sudden pain in her earlobe. Something trickled down her neck: blood. She fought with all her strength but her captors over powered her frail body. She finally gave in. The feeling of tiny hands exploring her body made her cringe and wretch. A sudden pain in her arm caused her to glance over. She saw a syringe withdrawing from her skin. The ceiling spun out of control and slowly she dropped out consciousness.

'_Doctor'_ her mind screamed.

**A/N: Oops. Poor Rose. I really have been putting her through the wringer. I just want to say that I am a nice person, really. I like people to have nice, quiet, simple lives. It's just that quiet, simple lives lead to boring stories. So plz review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. I was suffering from 'ahhhh where am I going with this'. I think I have the rest of the story worked out in my mind so the next chappies should go fairly smooth.**

**Disclaimer: I won Dr. Who off of the BBC in a pub last year. No I didn't just kidding.**

The Doctor ran every test and simulation he could think of. Leaving the med bay he made his way to the library only to exhaust every medical resource at his disposal. With all of his vast intelligence and years of wisdom he was no closer to finding the problem. Tired and frustrated he made his way to the consol room. Tinkering usually relaxed his mind and cleared his thoughts.

_Maybe there is no problem, _he mused. _Perhaps the symptoms are signs of smaller problems that have nothing to do with each other._

Answering his own question aloud he said, "Non-existent problems don't cause people to go sleepwalking in a flooded river."

_Emotional upheaval can cause the mind to do react in strange ways, especially when in a vulnerable state such as sleep, _he thought

"Or maybe whatever this ailment is contagious because clearly I have also gone mad," he screamed at the walls. Well tinkering wasn't working. There was only one thing left to jump-start his brain: a banana. After nearly drowning, breaking his leg and spending the night in a wet, chilly cave the Doctor was in definite need of a banana fix.

He took long way to the kitchen to check on Rose. Her door was slightly ajar and a quick peek inside revealed that she was sleeping soundly. He padded down the hallway as silently as possible. It was a good thing they had recently stocked up on bananas at a bazaar in the Kaiser belt.

Several months ago Rose had managed to convince him to try peanut butter with banana and with it he found a new definition of heaven. For an ape that girl was sure smart. Appetite now satiated, the Doctor sauntered back to the console room singing 'I've got a lovely bunch of Coconuts'. Just a quick peek at Rose and he would go back to tinkering.

He found her writhing in her blankets on the floor. Kneeling beside her he called her name. "Rose!" She looked up at him, eyes full of fear. Gathering her in his arms, the Doctor stroked her hair and whispered soothingly in her ear. Heat radiated from her frail body.

Rose struggled out of his embrace, tears streaming down her face. "Rose, it's me, the Doctor. You were having a bad dream."

Making no indication that she heard him Rose turned to flee only to bang into a wall. She clutched her head tears streaming down her face. She fought the Doctor's attempts to aid her.

Both hearts broke as the Doctor carried the sick girl down the hall to the med bay. She was so violent he had been forced to wrap her in a blanket to confine her arms and legs. Her strength finally waned, exhaustion overriding the will to survive. Tenderly he laid her on a gurney but she immediately rolled over, nearly falling to the floor. In his effort to keep her in place his sleeve caught her one of her earrings, ripping it out. Rose howled in pain and began to struggle with the ferocity of a wounded animal.

With great sorrow the Doctor injected a clear fluid into her arm. The effects of the sedative were almost instantaneous. Settling in a near-by chair, the Doctor waited.

Hours passed and though the chemicals induced sleep they could not guarantee peace. Helpless, the Doctor watched perspiration roll down her tense facial muscles. Periodically Rose would go into odd fits. Her hands would clench and her weak body would jerk about while she moaned pitifully. Eventually she would quiet down, returning to her ragged breathing.

Each struggled breath cut the Doctor to the core of his being as he knew there was nothing he could do for her. He had run simulations, testing every treatment he could think of and had come up with no positive results. Rose was the only one who could fight this now and her frail human body was slowly losing ground.

In desperation the Doctor filled the silence with his voice, if only in an attempt to calm her restless mind. "You know," he began. "I was thinking that after this is all over we should go shopping for a new oven. Nothin' too fancy. Just one with a timer that will shut it off automatically. That way the next time you decide to make brownies and an angry hoard of Visigoths distracts us you don't smoke up the TARDIS. I almost wanted to take my chances with the Visigoths. I can't imagine how we'll get it through the doors."

A quick glance at Rose showed her breathing and face were more relaxed so he continued his meaningless ramble. As the hours passed he talked about all the places in the universe that one could get good brownies, the virtues of wool socks and the brilliance of Homer's Odyssey.

He paused glancing at his watch. Seven hours had passed. _The tranquilizer should have worn off by now._

"I mean if you think about it," the Doctor continued, "a face launching a thousand ships is completely preposterous. But you silly apes cling to your ridiculous romantic notions. Love can lead to such trouble. Look at Helen and Paris, Romeo and Juliet, Lancelot and Guinevere. Love didn't do them any good. Probably the strangest force in the universe. It doesn't discriminate between young or old, weak or strong, human or…" His voice faltered slightly and in the faintest whisper he muttered two words. "Time Lord."

**A/N: Ugg I actually meant to write more but I just can't get in the zone today. Sorry it was so boring. Not a single funny bit. Humph. Well the Doctor has a difficult time being funny when Rose is in trouble.**

**Maybe after some reviews I will feel like writing more. (Hint, hint) In case you hadn't already figured it out, Rose was hallucinating in the chapter before. I know some of you wanted to see her carried off by a bunch of pygmy things. Sorry. For those of you who wanted pygmies I wrote a very cute little oneshot called Pygmy Problems. Go read it. I am quite proud of it actually.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Well I was in such a good mood after all of the nice reviews from yesterday that I couldn't wait to write the next chapter. Unfortunately real life has a habit of getting in the way. I completely zoned out in math class to write an outline for this chapter. Really math is so easy for me now anyway. I dunno why. I always struggled with it in high school but college math is soooooo easy. Which brings me to a little side note. What on earth are A-levels? I live in Canada so when I read about them in Fan Fiction I'm like completely lost. Maybe someone can help me out with that.**

**Disclaimer: I own Doctor Who. Not. Just wishful thinking on my part.**

Blackness. Floating. Nothing.

Rose dwelled in utter peace. The pain of the world slowly slipped away into the inky, depths of infinity. Sorrow, desire, regret, suffering, all gone. She left them behind in her frail dying body. That body, her life seemed so insignificant. It would be so easy to ease into oblivion and just…drift. But something tugged her back. She was reluctant to leave something behind. Him, she couldn't leave him…not yet.

Rose opened her eyes. She was in the TARDIS' med bay. Dim memories of small hands flooded her mind, causing panic to swell in her throat. _Calm down_, she said to herself,_ it was just a dream. I'm in the TARDIS. Everything is fine._ The pressure on her legs made her look towards her feet. The Doctor had fallen asleep in a chair next to her bed and his head and upper body sprawled over her legs. Even in sleep, the Doctor looked exhausted. One of his hands clutched her white fingers. Was she really that pale?

A sound emitted from down by her feet. "Rose."

Rose glanced at him, his eyes still closed in sleep. "Rose, please…" he continued.

For a moment she considered rousing him from his slumber but curiosity got the better of her and she waited. Silent seconds ticked by and then the Doctor whined, "Please Rose, show me. I wanna make daisy chains too."

Rose immediately erupted into a fit of giggles. Instantly alert, the Doctor bolted to his feet, nearly knocking the chair over in the process. 'He looks like a little boy who has been up to mischief with that face,' she noted.

"What?" he asked.

Rose, who had just barely got her giggles under control, resumed laughing hysterically. Happiness soon turned to fear as the excess stress on her weakened lungs turned laughter into a deep hacking cough. She struggled to inhale oxygen as the Doctor rubbed her back and whispered calmly in her ear.

"Shhh," he soothed, "Don't panic and it will pass."

Slowly her breathing returned to normal. The Doctor rummaged through a couple drawers, finally pulling out a stethoscope.

"You still use one of those," Rose asked, staring at the instrument in his hand.

"Of course," he replied, a bemused smile creeping over his face. "Every doctor has one of these. Now sit up for a minute."

Rose flinched as the freezing metal touched her back. "I figured you aliens would at least be able to invent a stethy thing that wasn't so cold."

He grinned. "I'll have to work on that. Now inhale….good and breathe out slowly." He moved the stethoscope around on her back several times before putting it away.

"So?" Rose asked.

He frowned. "How do you feel? Are you sore or achy?"

Rose pondered the question before answering. "Maybe a bit." She shifted to dangle her feet over the edge of the gurney and wrap the blanket around her shivering shoulders.

"Are you chilled?" he asked as he placed the back of his hand to her forehead. "You're a bit clammy and you have a fever. I would guess that you're around 100.3 degrees. (A/N: That's in Fahrenheit. I dunno if you brits even use the same scale. Sorry to interrupt.)

"Ya I'm a bit cold."

"Hmmm," he murmured, brow knit in concentration.

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Hmmm…what?"

"You, missy," he answered, "on top of whatever else is wrong, have pneumonia."

"Are you sure?"

"You doubt my excellent doctoring skills?" he mocked.

"Well, don't you have to run tests and things to know for sure?"

He sighed, pulled out his sonic screwdriver and did a brief scan. After a few seconds he said, "Yep pneumonia."

Rose stared at him. "You went through all those questions and the stethoscope when you could have just scanned me?"

He grinned manically. "Oh the sonic screwdriver takes all the fun out of it. I never get to use the stethoscope. Stethoscope…I like that that word. It kinda rolls off the tongue. Stethoscope, stethoscope…" He stopped at Rose's look of irritation. "Uhh ya," he said in his best 'I'm a professional voice', "Pneumonia is a bacterial infection that causes inflammation of the lungs. You likely picked it up from some humans in the mall on Alphus Primion and the bacteria got a hold when your immune system was weakened from our little midnight swim. There you have scientific proof that shopping is hazardous to your health." He smirked, clearly very pleased with himself.

"So is your driving but that hasn't stopped," countered Rose.

"Hey, my driving is perfect."

"Try saying that the next time we crash."

"Flying through time and space is infinitely more difficult than driving a car," he grumbled. "You better be nice to the doctor that's treating you, or else!"

"Do your worst, Doctor," she challenged.

"Alright," he answered. Suddenly Rose realized just how close his face was to hers. She found herself staring at his mouth, wondering what he tasted like. They both stood there, suspended, before the Doctor broke the invisible connection. "I prescribe..." An evil grin broke over his face. "Buckley's cough syrup."

"No, you wouldn't," responded a horrified Rose. "That is just too cruel. Besides you said I have pneumonia, not a cold."

The Doctor looked thoughtful for a moment. "It couldn't hurt."

"Ok I'll be nice. No more insults. But same goes for you. Deal." She reached out her hand to shake his.

He stared at it for a moment. "Your arm isn't shaking."

Rose looked down at her outstretched hand. "You're right. Well that's a good thing right?"

"No," he murmured while pulling out the sonic screwdriver, "that is odd."

Rose submitted to yet another scan. "And odd is bad," she asked.

"Odd is unexplained, and unexplained can be dangerous."

"Doctor, do you think that maybe you are getting just a little carried away? Maybe it was pneumonia all along. You must have some miracle cure that will fix me up in a jiff, eh?" (A/N: Ahhh there I go with the eh? Again. Curse my Canadian accent. I can't stop myself. I'm sure chatty today, eh? Urggg Sorry. Back to story. Right.)

"Pneumonia shneumonia… Oh I hope to never use that word again. Well actually normally I would give you a shot of…" he then drifted into some impossibly hard to follow explanation of a weird formula that cured most lung problems. Rose was lost shortly after 'hen's teeth and bezoar'.

"But," prompted Rose, cutting him off mid-sentence,

"But," he answered, "When mixed with an unknown entity, the active ingredients may act as a catalyst and cause any number of adverse reactions, resulting in discomfort, arrhythmia or complete neural shutdown."

Rose blinked. "Uh huh."

The Doctor sighed, "In other words I had to sedate you last night and my 'miracle cure' might not mix well with the tranquilizer. So I am forced to use a more primitive method: antibiotics."

"Oh. Well why didn't you just say so then?"

"I did. Here," he said passing her a bottle of pink pills. "Take two capsules, every 12 hours until they're all gone."

"Ok whatever," she muttered. Standing up, Rose made her way to the door.

The Doctor caught her hand. "Hey, where do you think you're going?"

"To get dresses and ready for my day," she replied.

"Uh…no. You are going straight back to bed." Rose opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off. "No complaints. I did not spend the last nine hours in here with you to let you go and wear yourself out. You need to rest and stay out of trouble so I can find out what is wrong with you before it kills you."

"Doctor, people my age don't usually die of pneumonia."

"Well people your age that have pneumonia aren't usually battling another alien ailment," he countered. His voice dropped and his eyes grew intense. "Rose, I don't have a diagnosis, no plan of action. I travel the universe calling myself 'The Doctor' and I can't even heal the one person I…" He couldn't continue.

"What, Doctor?"

"I told your mother I'd protect you. I made a promise to her."

Rose suddenly recalled the dream she had while she was sleepwalking. _"He protects you out of honor," said the strange girl child. "You are only an obligation, nothing more."_

"Is that all?" Rose demanded.

"What do you mean?"

Angry tears sprang to her eyes. "I'm just a 'promise' to you. That's it. Well if I'm such a burden to you why don't you just leave me behind at the next pit stop?" Wrenching her hand out of his grip and ignoring his blank stare, she ran off down the hallway.

**A/N: I actually had a lot more action and stuff planned for this chapter but that seemed like such a good place to end it. Poor Doctor. I know there hasn't been much going on in this story but its supposed to be more about the characters rather than saving the world and stuff.**

**Oh and I apologize for all my little interruptions. I'm just in such a good mood that I couldn't help but commentate. Sorry. Now you can commentate and tell me what you thought about it.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello again. You know I look forward to these little rambles everyday. I need them to get into my writing zone. So anyway ahhh..lost my train of thought. Oh right, thanx for the reviews. And thanx to those who explained what A-levels are. Apparently im evil cuz my chappies are too short. I agree. If I was reading this fic I would be upset about the short chapters too. I shall remedy that. Maybe. I'll see how this chapter flows.**

**Disclaimer: If I were Bill Gates I would buy Doctor Who and fix it. (Bye bye Martha, Hello Rose. Hehehe. But sadly, I am a poor, starving, college student.)**

By the time she reached the door to her bedroom, Rose's anger had dissipated. After a taking short shower and changing into o soft pair of pajamas Rose regretted what she had said to the Doctor. He had saved her life twice in the last few days and this is how she thanks him? Deciding to go and apologize, Rose moved to her bedroom door.

She opened it only to run into the Doctor. "Why aren't you in bed?' he asked.

"Doctor, I'm sorry," she blurted out.

"I wanted to apologize too. And," he looked down at the tray he was carrying in his hands, "I brought a peace offering." A slight blush crept over his face. "I made you tea and toast, but you can't have any until you are all tucked up in bed."

Rose made a pouty face. "Yes, mummy."

"Oi, I will call your mother if you don't behave and follow the doctor's orders," he threatened.

"No you won't," commented Rose as she crawled beneath her blankets.

"I would too."

An evil grin spread over her face. "No you won't because I'll just tell her it was all your fault that I'm ill and then you will be in for a slap."

The look of genuine fear on the Doctor's face triggered a fit of laughter from Rose. Within seconds she was coughing uncontrollably. Tears ran down her face as she tried to force breath into her lungs. The breakfast tray lay forgotten on the nightstand as the Doctor sat next to Rose; gently, he rubbed her back. Finally the racking coughing was reduced to muffled sobbing as the Doctor held her against his chest.

Rose sniffed. "I'm sorry but I am the world's biggest wimp when I'm sick. Just ask mum."

"I'd rather not go anywhere near your mother if I can help it." He watched a grin creep across her face. "See there's my Rose. Now how about a spot of breakfast?" he asked. Reaching behind him, the Doctor brought the tray of food over to rest on her lap. "I wasn't sure what you wanted on your toast so I brought a bit of to choose from. Ooo this looks yummy." He picked up a small jar marked 'Grape Jelly'. Rose cringed as he twisted the lid off and scooped some out with his finger.

"Well I won't be having any of that one, then. Where's the peanut butter?" she asked.

The Doctor squirmed. "Well..umm it's all gone."

"You've been in the banana's again, eh? Told you bananas and peanut butter went good together."

"Well," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her shoulder. "Some things are just better off when they are together. Now eat up."

Rose smothered her toast in strawberry jam and was about to take a bite when the lights flickered and her whole room began to shake.

The Doctor jumped up. "That's not supposed to happen." And then he just bounded out of the room, leaving Rose with a piece of toast hanging out of her mouth. Stunned, Rose sat blinking. She shook her head a little, and grabbing a robe on her way to the door, she ran after him. Following the sound of his voice screaming, "No, no, no, no, no, no!" she found him flicking switches and turning knobs in the console room.

The TARDIS rocked violently sending sparks flying everywhere. "What's happening?" Rose cried out over the din.

"We're being pulled off course," he answered back, not stopping his wild button mashing. "Something has locked onto the TARDIS and is drawing us in. It's some sort of energy wave. I'm trying to cancel it, now."

The TARDIS lurched to a halt. Rose was thrown forwards, banging her head on the console. The taste of iron flooded her mouth. Bringing her fingers to her mouth she wiped the blood from her split lip. "I could do with a bit of a warning next time," she called out to him.

Rose heard coughing behind her as the Doctor tried to clear smoke the smoke away from his head. "You okay there Rose?" he queried between gasps.

"Ya I'm fine. I just bit my lip that's all. Have we landed somewhere?"

The Doctor pressed several buttons on the keyboard. He stared at the monitor for quite a while before answering her. "Mars, Year 100,475. I managed to counteract the energy wave and stop it from pulling us completely in, but we are close to the point of origin. 'Bout 30 miles or so. Right, you stay here, I'm going to take a look around."

"Hey," Rose cried after him. "You aren't leavin' me 'ere."

He stopped in the doorway. Turning around, he gave her the most commanding look he could muster. "You aren't coming with me cuz you are going straight back to bed."

"No I'm not." She stood up to follow him but the room began to spin and she was forced to sit again, clutching her head in pain.

The Doctor sighed; shutting the TARDIS doors, he walked over and knelt beside her. "Rose," he uttered, "You're sick, you haven't eaten in over 24 hours and I know that you are trying to hide it but you are in pain. I can see it in your eyes. The last thing your body needs is to run around searching for alien power sources."

"But Doctor I…"

"No buts Rose," he interrupted. "I want to go out there. I want to know what could pull my ship, the best ship in the universe, in like a tiny minnow on a fishing line. My mind is bristling with questions that need answers. I want to go out there and look around, Rose, but I won't. I'm going to stay here with you because you need me right now. So come on, lets get you back to bed." He pulled her to her feet and turned her towards her room.

Rose halted. "No, Doctor. You should go out there and investigate. I promise I will go straight back to bed and finish my breakfast. Go on, I'll be okay."

He stared at her, clearly torn over what to do. "You promise that you will stay in bed and you won't try to follow me?"

"Cross my heart."

"Oh I dunno, you're 'Miss Forget-Rule-Number-One-And-Wanders-Off'. I better stay." He glanced back longingly at the door.

"Go, Doctor," Rose insisted.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay but if you are not in your bed when I get back I'll make you do the washing up for the next month."

She grinned, "Don't I do it anyway."

He was already on his way out the door but he called back to her over his shoulder. "Being sick hasn't affected your cheekiness I see." And the door shut behind him.

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW

For once in her entire history of traveling with the Doctor she actually followed his orders. Well mostly. After he left she wandered back to her room. Staying in the console room would tempt her to just peak out the door and look around. Despite a day of not eating, Rose had to force down the tea and toast. Part of her was glad the Doctor was gone because he would have hovered until she ate more. In the end all the effort she put into eating her breakfast was wasted because twenty minutes later she was on the floor of her bathroom throwing up what little she had managed to get down.

A glass of water did little to rid her mouth of the aftertaste of throwing up. With a sore body, an aching head, the shivers, and dizziness every time she stood up, Rose felt horrible. She wanted to call her mum but that would only make her worry unnecessarily. It would give her yet another reason for to hate the Doctor.

Rose spent the next few hours curled up in bed reading her magazines. She tried nibbling on a bit of toast and drinking more water but only ended up on the bathroom floor again. This became a regular pattern throughout the day. Even water refused to stay in her stomach. Completely miserable, Rose wandered down to the medical bay to find some Gravol. For a man that calls himself the Doctor he sure didn't keep the med bay very well organized. Now miserable, frustrated and at a loss to where the Gravol would be, Rose slid to the floor, leaning her head on the cool metal counter.

Her pocket started playing 'Voodoo Child' by the Rogue Traders. She fished out her mobile.

"Hello."

"Hi, Rose, It's me," the Doctor's voice floated out of the earpiece. "Listen I only have a few minutes. I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing."

"Oh I'm fine. Everything's great here," she lied.

He didn't seem to notice. "Good, I tracked the energy wave to its source but I want to wait til I get back before I tell you about it. I'll be back in a bit. Bye."

"Bye," muttered Rose.

As she hung up she noticed a flash of light on the floor under a cabinet. Closer inspection revealed a tiny gold object. _My earring_, she thought. She reached up to her right ear and felt dried blood. _It must have been ripped out by accident._ She had bought it from an old merchant woman at the bazaar in the Kaiser belt only about a week or so ago. It was alone, not part of a pair. Rose had been drawn to the single perfect pink stone that dangled down from two gold leaves. Using alcohol wipes, she cleaned up the dried blood around her ear. The one hole was completely ruined but she had another empty hole in the top of her ear lobe. The earring slid in easily but her right hand began to tremble as she tried to fasten the clasp.

"Bollucks," she muttered in frustration.

Exhaustion suddenly set into Rose's weakened body. Once back in her room she took a few sips of water, praying that it would stay down, before climbing back into bed, turning out the light and falling asleep.

She must have been asleep for some time because she awoke to find the Doctor's cool hand on her brow.

"Sorry," he whispered. "I was just checking on you."

"And?" she asked groggily.

"Fever's up and you're dehydrated. Did you drink anything today?"

"Tried to but I kept puking it up again."

His brow knit in worry. "You should have told me on the phone. I would have come back sooner."

Rose only grunted in reply.

The Doctor stroked her hair. "I have to put an IV in your arm to replace the fluids you've lost to this fever."

She nodded.

The Doctor left but returned shortly with the necessary supplies. "It shouldn't hurt," he assured her.

She felt only a slight prick as the needle went in to her arm. "There all done," he said. "You deserve a lollipop."

She gave him a sleepy smile and scooted over, patting the empty space next to her.

He hesitated slightly before taking off his shoes and crawling in next to her. "I suppose I should stay and keep an eye on you tonight," he commented. "Don't want you wandering off again."

She made a half-hearted grunt in reply.

"We might be here a little while," he continued. "I tracked the energy wave to its source, the university, but I need to investigate further. I made up a cover story for us. I'm John Smith, temporary professor at the U of M and you, Rose Tyler, can be his wife."

**A/N: It's funny. As I was writing this chapter I seriously wanted to just say something like 'and Rose keeled over and died the end' cuz I was so bored. The whole energy thing drawing in the TARDIS and the Doctor investigating was all spur of the moment. I think it will help keep the story moving if I add some action. I still accomplished everything I wanted to with this chapter.**

**Plz, plz, review. I want to know what you think of the slight change in direction with the story. Is it too much change too late? I just wasn't ready to wrap this story up yet but it wasn't going to last much longer the way it was going. **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hello again. A big thank-you to everyone who reviewed. In the last chapter I had Rose going to the med bay to find some Gravol cuz she was pukin all over the place. For those of you who don't know what Gravol is, it's something you take when you can't stop throwing up or if you are going on a long trip and you are prone to getting car sick. Really she shouldn be takin anything before asking the Doctor if it's okay, hence why I didn't let her find it. So sorry for any confusion. All my fault. So on with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I'm really RTD but I'm forced to write fan fic cuz I messed up the show when I got rid of Rose. Just kidding.**

"I'm still a bit confused how getting a job is going to help you track down this rogue energy wave," Rose remarked. "And I thought you said this wouldn't hurt."

The Doctor sighed. "It wouldn't hurt if you would just hold still."

"Well it's hard to hold still when you are jabbing that thing further into my arm. I thought you were taking the IV out."

"I am taking it out," he answered through gritted teeth.

Rose yelped, pulled her arm back and ripping the needle out of her arm in the process. A stream of curses passed her lips.

"I'm impressed, Rose," he commented. "That was four languages and that last one was defiantly not from your solar system."

"Jack," she explained.

"Ah, of course. Well that's all done," he said slapping a pink band-aid on her arm where the needle had been. "So let's go over this one more time. Rule number one you…"

She rolled her eyes. "Will stay in bed," she finished but then added, "Mostly."

He glared at her. "Ok what's rule number two?"

"Always bring a banana to a party?" she answered in her best sweet/innocent voice.

"No wandering off," he corrected.

In the same sweet/innocent voice Rose asked, "Well how can I wander off if I'm in bed?"

"You, Rose Tyler, would find a way. I'm sure of it." Stepping back, he straightened his suit and brushed off imaginary dirt. "Well," he asked, "Do I look like Dr. John Smith, professor of Temporal Mechanics at the University of Mars?"

She started to giggle but stopped herself. Laughing generally turned into coughing fits, leaving Rose struggling for breath.

The Doctor frowned. "I'm still not sure I should leave you here all by yourself."

"Well we could always go and pick up my mother so she could look after me," suggested Rose." At the Doctor's look of horror she continued, "Just kidding. Go do what you have to do. Investigate alien power sources, save the world. I still don't get why you need to work at the university."

"The university is huge and I can't get a clear fix on the wave's origins. It could take weeks and I need a reason to hang around that won't attract too much attention," he explained.

"And you just waltzed in there and they gave you a job?"

"Yah. It seems that the old temporal mechanics professor never returned from holidays. Quite odd…he just disappeared," The Doctor puzzled for a minute before continuing. "Anyway, they were desperate and when they saw my qualifications they practically begged me to teach. How could I refuse? All those young minds, thirsting for knowledge. Should be kinda fun."

"And why do I have to be Mrs. John Smith?"

"Well," he explained, "Well since we live together I didn't want people to get the wrong impression. If you were my maid my colleagues might think that we... er.."

"Are having sex," she supplied.

"Well, ya."

"Oh I get it," she pronounced, "Instead of them wondering if we're sleeping together you want them to assume that we are. Makes perfect sense to me."

"It sounds like such a horrible thing when you put it that way."

"It's not a horrible thing then?" she asked.

"Well no… I mean you and I would be…" He looked at his watch. "Oh look at the time. I'm going to be late for my first day. Wish me luck." In a swift unthinking movement he leaned down and kissed her on the lips. It was a brief see-ya-later-honey kiss. The kind of kiss every couple shares before they part ways for the day. The Doctor pulled back, a horrified expression on his face. "I'm sorry," he stammered. "I must have been caught up in playing John Smith. I…I don't know what came over me. I gotta go." Catching up his briefcase, he ran out of her room and through the TARDIS doors.

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWD

When Rose had promised the Doctor that she would stay in bed she had assumed a rather flexible meaning of the phrase. She decided that keeping her pajamas on could loosely translate as 'being in bed'. She devoured her breakfast, though somewhat nervously as she was not eager to spend her day on the bathroom floor again. In truth, she felt a lot better than yesterday. Though her right arm shook uncontrollably, her headache and the dizziness were completely gone.

Shortly after waking up, the Doctor had moved the TARDIS into the flat that he had rented for Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Rose wandered around the small apartment. _It looks so sterile_, she thought._ Not at all like someone lives here. Let alone a couple. _Someone had pushed the old dusty furniture against the walls. Considering it was the year 100,475 apartment sure hadn't changed all that much. They still looked like a glorified box. However, this glorified box came with it's own 'choose your view' window. _With a little bit of rearranging this place could at least resemble a home. Just in case he brings one of his colleagues back on day._

Rose spent the morning domesticating Mr. and Mrs. Smith's home. A few photos of the two of them together helped bring life to the walls. She carried a few dishes into the kitchen and placed a few rugs on the floor. A knock at the door made her nearly topple off the chair she was standing on to hang up curtains.

"Coming," she yelled. Quickly straightening the curtains and pushing the chair under the table, she ran to the door.

Rose opened the door to find a brunette woman in her 30s, smiling at her. "Hello?" said Rose.

The woman flashed Rose a dazzling smile before pushing past her into the living room. "My, what a quaint little home you have here. Very," the woman paused, "Classic Earth."

Still holding the door open Rose asked, " I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Oh I'm sorry dear. My name's Glenda, Glenda Paxton. My husband, Geoffrey Paxton, is the head of the science department at U of M. He works with your husband."

"Oh."

Glenda continued, "Well I just thought I'd come and introduce myself. I see I've come at a bed time," she stared at Rose's pajamas. "Perhaps I should come back later."

"No," Rose interjected, "Shall I make us a cup of tea?"

"Oh aren't you just a dear. It's so cute that you would make the tea yourself."

An hour later Rose was regretting answering the door let alone offering her tea. In the short time Rose had spent with Glenda she had learned how much more Glenda's husband made than Dr. John Smith, how many rooms were in their house, how many dinner parties she had thrown in the last month and how she was related to the Ambassador of New France. As Glenda talked, Rose found it was more and more difficult to focus on listening to her words. Rose blinked several times, trying to bring Glenda back into focus.

Glenda continued on in her high, crackly voice. "And then I said 'I think she looks more like Grutarian than a Mortak.' Rose are you ok? You look a bit pale."

Rose tried to answer but her lips refused to move. She drifted away from Mrs. Paxton, into darkness.

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWD

The Doctor was fuming silently. _That upstart thinks he knows more than I do. Well if he's so smart than he should teach the class._

He re-arranged the papers on his desk for the fifteenth time. "The little twirp, 'Time travel is impossible Professor Smith'. Stupid ape" he muttered to himself.

A voice behind him startled the Doctor out of his musings. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Ah no, of course not," answered the Doctor, turning his chair to face the voice. Dr. Paxton stood in the doorway. "What can I do for you?" asked the Doctor.

"It's your wife," the man replied. "She collapsed. She's been taken to the hospital."

**A/N: Well there's another chapter. I think the last few chapters before this one I kinda lost the Doctor's character a bit. He wasn't quite like he is in the tv episodes which is what I'm striving for. I think I got him back in this chapter a bit though. I meant to make it longer but I just can't. It took a bag of popcorn and three showers to get this much done. (Popcorn is my fuel and showers usually clear up my writer's block. Kinda weird eh?)**

**Plz review. I live for your reviews. Seriously, I woke up at like 4 in the morning cuz I wanted to check to see if anyone had reviewed yet. Pathetic. I know. **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Ugg I feel quite sick this morning. Maybe this is my punishment for being so mean to Rose and the Doctor. I hope it doesn't impede my creative genius. Ok I don't think genius is quite right. I'm not that good at writing.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own the Doctor. Sniff**

Shuttles in the year 100,475 did not go nearly fast enough for the Doctor's liking. Geoffrey Paxton had offered to take the Doctor to the hospital because John Smith didn't own a shuttle. Dr. Paxton punched a few co-ordinates into the control panel and swiveled around to face the Doctor. "Traffic isn't that bad today. We should be there in thirty minutes or so," he said.

The Doctor found it hard to concentrate on Dr. Paxton's words because his mind was buzzing through all the possibilities for Rose's sudden collapse. They all boiled down to the same thing: he shouldn't have left her alone. "What did your wife say exactly, Geoff? I can call you Geoff, right?"

The other man looked taken aback. "I suppose… Glenda didn't say much. She was just stopping in to say hello and they were sitting there having tea and your wife just fell off her chair and started writhing on the floor. Poor Glenda was scared out of her wits. She has a delicate heart you see. I try not to let her get too riled up but there was this one time when I first met her…"

The Doctor tuned out the other man's droning voice. He now regretted not taking the TARDIS to the hospital. It would have been quicker, even if it risked suspicion.

"Mr. Smith… John, did you hear me?"

The Doctor snapped out of his reverie. "Sorry?" he answered.

'"I asked you how long you two have been married?"

The Doctor pondered over what to answer, finally deciding he said, "Just under two years." About the same amount of time Rose had been traveling with him.

"So you don't have any kids yet?" Geoffrey asked.

"Nope. I don't do domestic," the Doctor answered rather quickly.

Geoffrey stared wistfully at the ceiling. "Glenda was pregnant once. When she told me I went straight out and bought a little set of booties. They were yellow because we didn't know its sex." He turned his head towards the window. Deep lines formed in the normally cheerful face. "She lost it," he said finally. "I wanted to try again but Glenda wanted to wait. That was thirteen years ago. I'm fifty-six now. Too old to be a father."

"I'm sorry," said the Doctor, quietly.

"Maybe you're right to not do domestic, John. It only hurts in the long run."

They rode the rest of the way in silence, each haunted by old ghosts. Geoffrey dropped the Doctor off at the main entrance to the hospital and went to park the shuttle. A quick stop at Information told him Rose was on the fourth floor in room 435B. He got hopelessly lost, unable push away the thoughts of what Rose would say if she were with him. _It doesn't matter what planet their from. Men never stop for directions. _Her tiny voice spoke in his mind. Finally a nurse noticed the lost look on his face and sent him in the right directions. (He had been going in circles it turned out.) "Great," he muttered to himself, "I can navigate time and space but I can't find my way around a hospital." A passerby gave him a very odd look and walked away shaking his head.

He heard a high-pitched woman's voice upon walking into room 435B. Peaking around the corner he saw Rose sitting up in bed, very pale, a bored expression on her face. A brown-haired woman, possibly in her late 30s sat in a chair next to the bed chatting away, unaware that her audience was tuning her out.

"Ahem," the Doctor cleared his throat as he walked in. Rose's looked unmistakably relieved to see him. "I'm sorry," the Doctor continued, "Am I interrupting anything."

Rose started to speak but the brown-haired woman interjected. "Oh I was just telling Rose all about my debate society. My husband, Geoffrey, suggested that I start it up. He said, 'Glenda you are so good at talking you should make it a hobby.' My Geoffrey is so smart. You must be John. He told me about you, though he didn't say much about you. He doesn't talk much my Geoffrey."

Rose flashed him a look that clearly conveyed a message saying 'save me from this woman'.

The Doctor moved over to stand beside the bed, taking one of Rose's hands in his. "How are you feeling?"

Rose began to answer but Mrs. Paxton cut in, "Oh she's been right sick all day. She threw up all over the nurse who brought her up from radiology. Poor bloke."

The Doctor flipped through the pages of Rose's chart, scanning the information. Looking at Rose, he commented, "It says here you've been getting dizzy spells."

"I'm fine," Rose began.

Again Glenda cut in. "Oh she can't stand without holding onto a wall."

"Really," he noted, not taking his eyes off Rose.

"Do…John," stammered Rose, "Can I go home with you now?"

"Oh but dear," Glenda began, "The doctors insisted that you stay here for observations." To the Doctor she added, "They were concerned about her being all by herself during the day. Who knows what would happen if I hadn't been there today. I explained to them that you were just starting a new job and couldn't possibly take time off to stay with her."

"Oh well…" the Doctor started to say before he was interrupted by Mrs. Paxton.

"But that's okay because she can come and stay with my husband an I until she is feeling better." Oblivious to Rose's look of horror, she continued. "Oh no need to thank me. I'm always happy to do a good deed. Honestly I'll be glad of the company. My friends havn't come calling much lately. They have terribly busy lives. They're not like you dear, they don't need to live off their husbands."

Ignoring Rose's scathing look the Doctor answered, "We would be glad to accept your hospitality for a few days. Just until Rose feels better. Right honey?"

Rose chose not to answer.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone for a minute while I go collect her things. They took away all of her clothes. Even her jewelry. Someone could try to pinch it. Not that you have to worry, dear. You obviously have nothing of value."

Rose waited until Mrs. Paxton was well out of earshot before speaking in a low, dangerous voice. "You are not leaving me alone all day with her."

"Now Rose, that isn't very nice. She seems quite kind. Besides won't it be nice to have someone other than the TARDIS to talk to?"

Rose was about to reply but Geoffrey Paxton walked in the room smiling. "My wife," he said, "has informed me that we are having house guests for a few days."

Sighing, Rose leaned back. She had lost this battle.

Glenda's constant chatter and an occasional nod from Geoffrey animated the drive to the Paxton's home. Rose spent the whole trip with her head in her hands, breathing carefully, while the Doctor rubbed her back. He tried to ignore Glenda's repeated remarks about how cute they were.

When they arrived, Glenda showed them to a comfortable room with a king sized bed in the middle. "This is the guest suite," she explained, "The bathroom is just behind that door. If you need anything don't be afraid to use the intercom. The dresser should be able to replicate any nightclothes. I will see you in the morning."

"Thank-you" the Doctor told her as she left.

After helping Rose sit down on the bed he wandered around the room, fiddling with curtains and examining the pictures on the walls. "Well this seems like a nice place Rose."

She stared back at him, not trusting herself to speak.

"Oh don't give me that look, Rose. It's for the best really. I can't look after you while I'm poking around at the university," he said while placing her bag of belongings from the hospital on the dresser. Slowly he began emptying the contents out of the bag, placing each item neatly on the countertop.

"Oh and that is so important," she sneered.

"You're the one that told me to," he responded, confused.

"Well that was before you decided that I can't look after myself."

"I didn't decide anything. You're sick. I'm trying to look after you."

"Well just stop, ok," she huffed, "I'm fine."

"I won't stop, Rose," his voice hard and forceful. "You are my responsibility."

"Oh I forgot," she said, fighting tears, "I'm just a responsibility. Like a little pet that tags along. Something that you can just leave behind or drop on someone else whenever you feel like it."

"Rose, it's not like that."

"You only care about me when it suits you."

"Rose you know that's not true," he replied.

"But it is true," she said. "You've ignored your 'responsibility' again and again. Dumping me on these people while you go swanning off, leaving me for Madame de Pompadore." He started to answer but she interrupted him, anger fueling her beyond all reason. "You're just trying to get rid of me. I bet you were hoping that I'd be killed when you locked me in with that Dalek." She regretted her words as soon as they past her lips.

He looked like he had just been slapped. His face contorted in anger. Her mobile, which he had been holding, flew across the room, crashing into a picture frame. Glass shattered everywhere. In a moment he had crossed the room. Wrapping his fingers around her chin, he pulled her face so that it was inches from his own. Intense brown eyes bore into her soul.

His voice echoed like fire on ice off the walls, both soft and deadly. "There is not night that goes by, Rose Tyler, that I do not relive the moment when I thought I killed you. Not a single night that I am not haunted by my decision. Don't you DARE accuse me of not caring, you stupid human girl."

She squeaked and a tear rolled from one hazel eye. Slowly, as if in a trance, he released the vice-like grip on her chin. As he pulled his hand away he noticed white marks where his fingers had been. She started to rub her chin but quickly covered her mouth, pushed him out of the way and ran to the bathroom.

Both sobbed, alone, and in separate rooms. She whimpered between the heaves of her stomach and he sat on the floor beside the bed, his body wracking in fits of tears as he stared at his hand. The same hand that had caused the purple bruise slowly creeping over Rose's cheek.

**A/N: Well that got a bit intense. Oops. I have a feeling that I'm gonna get some pretty interesting and opinionated reviews.**

**I was completely floored by the number of reviews from the last chapter by the way.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. The end of the last chapter kinda turned out differently then I had intended. They were only supposed to have a little row. Oops. So anyway my carefully planned outline had to be scratched. Well some of it. All thanks to Rose and her stupid comment. And then I ended up rewriting this chapter three times. (I kept changing the POV.) But it is finally done so enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Still hoping to find a letter in the mail from the BBC saying that I now own Doctor Who.**

Rose's stomach continued to heave long after it had expelled all it's contents. Periodically she would get a few moments of relief, allowing her to lie on the cold bathroom floor and stare at the ceiling. These brief minutes of respite would end all too quickly as another wave of nausea hit her. As she laid her head back for what felt like the fiftieth time, Rose prayed that this time had been the last. Her stomach muscles ached with every intake of breath and her throat felt raw as her stomach acid ate away it's lining. She realized that even if she had to throw up again it would have to be right where she lay because she no longer had the strength to hold herself up.

For some time she floated somewhere between consciousness and sleep and a new sensation formed in the pit of her stomach: guilt. She had been angry and frustrated. In a vain attempt to deflect her fears she had focused all her pain onto him. Realization flooded her mind; she had wanted to hurt him. New tears flowed down her face. Gradually she gathered her feet beneath her and with the help of the counter she pulled herself up.

A strange woman stared back at her through the mirror. Dark circles around the eyes stood out against sickly pale skin. Her hair hung limp and lifeless around a sunken face. Rose reached up to trace the angry, purple, thumb-shaped, bruise on her cheek. A sudden wave of dizziness overcame her legs crumpled beneath her. She grappled at the counter in an attempt to stay upright but lost her grip, bringing an intricate soap dish crashing to the floor with her.

As she sobbed dry tears in a crumpled heap on the floor a voice called from beyond the door.

"Rose?"

The voice was bare, lacking the layers that disguised his emotions. Fear, guilt, pain and something slippery, not quite tangible radiated in the sound of that single word.

"Doctor?" she cried back from cracked lips.

She heard a buzzing noise and then a click as the door unlocked. As he stared at her lying in a heap on the floor Rose realized how wretched and weak she must look. She tried to shift herself upright into a sitting position but collapsed again. The Doctor knelt beside her and hesitantly, almost like he was afraid to touch her, wrapped his arms around her frail body and lifted her up. She hung limply, like a rag doll in his grasp, as he carried her into the bedroom. Setting her down carefully he rested on the bed beside her and sat there, directly facing her. She watched as his gaze floated down from her eyes and rested on her bruised cheek.

The guilt that she felt was a mere echo compared to the well of self-loathing that now reflected in his deep brown eyes. As he brought his hand close to her face she flinched instinctively and he looked away, unwilling to let her see the expression in his eyes. Standing up, he walked over to the dresser, opened the dresser and pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of fuzzy pants. He brought them over to her, setting them on the bed along with her watch and the single earring.

He stood outside the door while she changed. She struggled with the simple task of changing. _One of these days_, she thought to herself, _I'll actually change into normal clothes._ Sticking the earring through her earlobe was difficult to do without a mirror but walking back into the bathroom was arduous just thinking about it.

"You can come back in," she called out to the Doctor.

Upon re-entering, he grabbed a pillow and the extra blanket and curled up on the floor facing away from Rose. Feeling very small, and alone in the king sized bed, Rose drifted into a fitful sleep. It was not the cold hard floor that kept the Doctor from sleep that long night; it was the memory of his fingers pressing against Rose's white skin and the fear in her eyes as she pulled away from his touch.

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWD

Sunlight filtered in through the fake window, basking Rose's face in light and causing her eyelids to flutter open. She rolled over, moaning, willing herself to return to the sweet nothingness of dreamland. After several minutes Rose gave up on falling back to sleep and rolled herself out of bed. Surprised at how steady she felt on her feet, Rose looked around the room. A disheveled blanket lay empty in the corner. Relief coursed through Rose veins; the Doctor was gone. After what she had said to him last night she needed to gather her thoughts before confronting him with an apology.

She walked over to the dresser. "I don't suppose you could supply me with some actual clothes?" she inquired while opening the drawer. She was pleasantly surprised to find an entire outfit inside including blue jeans, an orange hoodie and matching lingerie (pink of course). "I like you," she said to the dresser while slipping the clothes on. "Maybe I could sneak you into the TARDIS. What do I do with these pajamas?"

As if on command the bottom drawer opened which Rose placed her borrowed nightclothes in and then shut again. A metallic voice startled Rose. "Thank you. Your clothing has been recycled."

"You're welcome," muttered Rose. New clothes and a shower did much to improve Rose's mood. Actually she felt better than she had in days. No dizziness or nausea or headache, although, her arm had begun to shake again. _That's odd,_ she thought,_ I wasn't shaking when I was in the hospital._

She was surprised to find that both the broken soap dish and the shattered picture frame had been cleaned up and her mobile lay undamaged on the table beside the bed. Trying not to look at the ugly purple mark on her cheek, Rose tied her hair into a loose knot on the top of her head. She was ready to face the day.

The Paxton home was a modest size and very much resembled a house from the 21st century. Rose had been expecting to see high tech gadgets coming out of the walls or something. Instead she found normal things such as plants (okay, slightly odd plants that followed her movements) and pictures (which happened to call out greetings to her as she moved past.)

A door standing slightly ajar caught her interest and she peeked her head around. Geoffrey Paxton lifted his head up from the book he was reading and smiled, motioning her in.

"Good morning, sit down. Have some of my toast," he said gesturing to a plate of toast in front of him. "How are you feeling today?"

Taking a piece of toast she answered, "Better, thank you." She ate in silence, staring at her surrounding. They seemed to be in some sort of study, surrounded by books and various artifacts in glass cases.

"Your husband left early this morning. He said he had to stop off at home or something before heading to work."

Rose nodded.

"Couples have rows all the time, Rose. Glenda and I have had some doozies. We always made up again. You two will as well," he assured her.

She blushed "You heard that?"

"Rose, the neighbors down the street heard it," he smiled, turning back to his book.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's okay," he said. "He didn't want to leave this morning. Kept on coming up with excuses to go back and check up on you."

Rose got up and moved around the room, admiring the many artifacts on display. "What is all of this stuff?" she asked.

His face brightened with enthusiasm. "Oh just stuff I've collected from all over the universe. Little bits of ancient civilizations. It is a bit of a hobby it's a bit silly. Glenda calls it junk."

Pausing to stare at what resembled a Gameboy, Rose remarked, "I think it's amazing. Imagine all the history in one room."

Geoffrey brightened, "That's what I think. Do you want to see my most valuable artifact?"

"Sure."

Geoffrey crossed over to the bookcase and pulled down a metal box. He punched some symbols into a keypad and the lid opened. Rose peered inside.

A pink stone, about the size of a baseball, rested on a soft velvet cushion. Resembling quartz, the edges were rough and angular. Rose couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed as she gazed at the junk of rock.

Trying to sound amazed and awed, she asked, "What is it?"

"Kluartz," he answered.

"Oh."

"Its from on old civilization on the other side of the galaxy," he explained. "They used it as a power source."

"Wow," Rose said, slightly intrigued. She reached a hand into the box.

"Don't touch it," he warned.

Withdrawing her hand, she asked "Is it dangerous?"

"No, but long term exposure can have some adverse effects on humans."

"How does it work?"

"Well," he said excitedly, "I'm not sure exactly but the records I've uncovered says that it captures life energy. See normally it wouldn't be found in its raw form like this. The Kaisinians used to cut it up and set it in jewelry and the people would wear it. Then in the instant before a Kaisinian died the stone would soak up his or her life force. A whole civilization fueled on the life of its people. Brilliant, eh?"

"Yah," she replied.

Geoffrey glanced at his watch. "Oh my, look at the time. I better go to work." He closed the lid and placed it back on the shelf.

"Could I catch a ride with you? I need to talk to John."

Dr. Paxton smiled. "Of course."

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWD

Dr. Paxton led Rose to the Doctor's office. "I'm pretty sure he's in a lecture right now," he said. "But he should be back soon. I'll just unlock the door so you can wait for him."

"Thank-you."

"No problem. He's a good man, Rose, and he loves you very much."

She smiled as the older man left. _If only that were true,_ she thought.

Settling down in a swivel chair, Rose surveyed the small office. Considering he had only been working here for two days, the Doctor his desk had filled up with papers. Post-it notes were stuck randomly to the walls. Rose chuckled as she saw_ Bananas are good_ scrawled on one. Spinning around in the chair, Rose noticed a bulletin board behind her and was shocked to see no less than four pictures of herself pinned to it. Each was a snapshot taken after a harrowing adventure.

"Rose?"

She snapped her head over to the door to see the Doctor standing in the entrance.

"Why are you here?" he asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No," she answered. "I just couldn't stay at the Paxton's."

He grimaced, "I understand. I had a nice loooong chat with Glenda this morning. But I don't want to leave you all day on your own. How are you feeling? You look a bit pale. Do you have a fever?" He started to reach his hand towards her forehead but stopped himself, his eyes lingering on her bruised cheek.

"I'm fine."

He nodded. They stared at each other in silence. Both unsure of how to say what was on his or her mind.

The Doctor finally spoke, looking at the floor he said, "Rose, about last night, I…I'm so…"

He didn't get to finish his words. A loud screech emitted through the walls. The floor beneath them began to shake. The Doctor jumped forward, wrapping his arms around Rose he pushed her to the floor beneath him as the ceiling caved in and they were engulfed in darkness.

**A/N: Oh I'm mean. But cliffies are just so wonderful. I have slightly bad news for you loyal readers. My mother phoned me this morning and announced that she was coming to stay with me for a week. She arrives tommorow (thanks for the notice mum). Anyway she can be very distracting to my creative genius so the next few updates will be slow. Sorry. **

**Plz Review.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Well I actually wrote another chappy sooner than I expected. And before you all go thanking me for being wonderful and updating you should really thank Adia Rose who gave me the gentle shove (actually several) I needed to get this chappy done. And thnx to those who reviewed. Without you I would have just given up on this entirely. Anyway enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own the doc.**

"So not only do I become rude and not ginger, but I'm going to be incompetent as well."

The Doctor felt a familiar thrumming beneath him. Groaning, he opened his eyes to find himself staring at the roof of the TARDIS. "I'm dreaming," he muttered.

"Yep," came the voice again, followed by much clattering and banging from underneath the console.

The Doctor rolled to his feet and wandered over to the source of the voice. Looking down at the man under the console the Doctor said, "Well I at least I'm not Mr. big ears and no hair anymore."

"I'm not going to validate that with a response," retorted Nine.

"Of all the corners in my mind to wander through," the Doctor commented, "I have to be stuck with you."

Nine rolled his eyes and resumed tinkering.

"Incompetent?" the Doctor muttered.

"Huh?" asked Nine.

"You called me incompetent," he clarified while trying to flatten his spiky hair.

Nine muttered incoherently under his breath.

Sliding down to sit with his back against the console, the Doctor huffed. "Well if you aren't going to talk to me, what's the point of even being here?"

Not looking up from his work, Nine asked, "What's the last thing you remember?"

The Doctor pondered for a few minutes. "A strange energy reading pulled us off course and..oh I'm a university professor and Rose is playing my wife and…" His face suddenly contorted in anguish as more memories flooded in. "Rose! She's sick, maybe even dying and I can't find what's wrong."

"And…" Nine prompted, his eyebrows raised.

The Doctor stared down at his hands. "I hurt her," he muttered, eyes wide and listless.

"See, what'd I tell you, incompetent," confirmed Nine.

Eyes wide, the Doctor continued, "There was an earthquake. The ceiling caved in. Rose…Rose was there."

Ceasing his fiddling, stared at his tenth regeneration, his blue eyes like ice. "You have one job. Just one purpose in life: protect her. Needless to say you're failing miserably."

"I'm sorry. What do I do?"

Blue eyes stared into brown, "You wake up and tell her that."

The humming faded away and the lights dimmed. He awoke to the sound of a violent coughing fit. Loud, Gallifrelian, curses issued from his mouth as he tried to sit up and crashed his head into a jagged piece of metal. He rubbed the place where it hurt and found blood. Wiping the blood on his now filthy suit, he crawled the few feet to where Rose lay gasping for air.

"Calm down, Rose. I'm here." He soothed as he rubbed her back. His eyes scanned down along her body and fixed upon the large concrete slab that hid both her legs from view. In the dim light he could make out a dark puddle of blood seeping onto the floor. Rose followed his gaze and her eyes widened in panic and fear. She struggled to free herself but her wild movements only caused the block to shift making her cry out in agony.

The Doctor grabbed her shoulders and held her firmly to restrict her movements. "Hold still," he demanded, staring directly in her eyes. Now beyond all rational thought, Rose tried to fight the Doctor off but he was able to maintain a firm grip on her. "Rose, look at me!" he screamed. She stared up at him, barely suppressing the urge to struggle. When the Doctor finally spoke his voice was steady and calm. "If ever there was a time to trust me, it's now. You have to do what I say, okay?"

She nodded, whimpering.

"Okay," he continued, "I need you to stay as still as possible." Taking out the sonic screwdriver, he scanned her body up and down. He breathed a sigh of relief; she had no broken bones, spinal damage or internal bleeding. "You're doing great, Rose." Next he peered through the gloom at Rose's trapped legs. The concrete slab balanced precariously on a steel beam, taking most of the weight. With a little leverage in the right place, he would be able to shift it enough to free Rose. Conversely, a wrong move and the block would crush her. Horridly, he searched for something to use as a lever.

"Don't go," whimpered Rose, as he moved out of her sight.

He knelt beside her, stroking her hair. "Rose, have I ever told you about the white sand beaches of Selidon?"

She sniffed, shaking her head.

"Well I'm not going to tell you about it because I'm going to take you there and you can wear that scrap of fabric you call a bathing suit."

Rose managed a weak grin. "Last time I wore it you got all mad at me."

"Well you were attracting too much male attention."

"You sure get jealous for a man that isn't even my boyfriend," she teased. Her smile soon disappeared as a new wave of pain hit.

"I'll be right back," he assured her.

The small room that had been his office was now unrecognizable. In fact they both would have been crushed under tons of rubble except that the room had once been used for storage and the walls were re-enforced to support heavy shelves. Even so one wall collapsed completely with the weight of the ceiling beams. The Doctor was surprised that they hadn't gone crashing down into the next floor. With bits of the roof caved in all around every possible exit was blocked. Rose may bleed to death long before anyone found them.

Returning with a sturdy lead pipe, the Doctor studied the task at hand: extracting Rose. After careful calculation he placed the bar between a beam and the concrete. "Rose when I say I need you to pull your legs out, okay?"

She nodded.

With a grunt, the Doctor pried the concrete, giving Rose the few inches she needed to scurry out. As soon as she was clear the block slipped and came crashing down causing the walls to shake. The Doctor threw his arms around Rose to protect her from falling debris.

"Where is all the blood coming from?" he asked her after the dust cleared. A quick inspection revealed a long gash running from her knee to her ankle. The Doctor scanned it. "You're lucky," he muttered. "It's deep but it didn't knick any major blood vessels. Could have been worse." He wrapped a piece of his shirt around the wound and commented, "From now on I'm covering you in bubble wrap whenever we leave the TARDIS."

Rose sidled up to sit next to him. "Was that an earthquake?"

"Yes and no. I would have sensed a normal earthquake minutes before it happened but I had no warning at all. I'm willing to bet this has something to do with what latched onto the TARDIS."

"So what do we do now?" she asked.

"Do you have your mobile on you?"

Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a very smashed looking cell phone. "I don't think this will be much help to us now," she grimaced.

The Doctor pulled it out of her grasp. After a bit of tinkering with the sonic screwdriver the phone began to emit a faint beep every thirty seconds or so.

"What did you do to it?" Rose asked.

"Set up a distress signal. In theory someone should pick it up and come rescue us."

"So we're just going to sit here and wait? Oh well. It could be worse," she muttered.

After a moment, the Doctor pulled her up onto his lap. Cradling her in his arms he murmured, "You are the bravest person I've ever met."

"No I'm not Doctor," she whispered. "To tell you the truth, right now I'm terrified."

He continued to rock her back and forth. "I'm sorry."

"It's not like you asked the building to fall on top of us," she replied.

"No… not that," he stammered. "I'm sorry about…last night."

For a long time Rose said nothing. "It's okay," she replied finally. "I didn't mean what I said about that thing with the Dalek."

"No it's not okay. Rose, I hurt you. I don't deserve your forgiveness. I…" He was cut off because he found she had placed her lips to his. For a moment he returned the kiss, letting all of his desire flow into her sweet mouth.

And then she pulled away. "That's the thing about forgiveness," she commented as she settled her head back on his shoulder. "You have it whether you want it or not."

Hours later rescue workers followed a distress signal to a very damaged part of the university. No one expected to find anyone alive down there but as they worked they became aware of music floating through the rubble. They sought out the strange voice and found a man rocking a sleeping woman back and forth. All the time they worked to clear the rubble, the man continued to sing softly in an ancient tongue. And if asked about it years later, each man would confess that they had never heard a song so sweet and vibrant yet painful and full of sorrow in their entire lives.

**A/N: Awwww that got all cute and fluffy towards the end. Okay, good, now that that is over with I can get back to some action and the real story. You know I was almost tempted to let Rose die in his arms there at the end. It would have been sad and poetic. But I still have plans for this story which don't include Rose dying…yet? Mwaaa hahaha.**

**Plz Review**

**Oh and I was kinda surprised that no one noticed the big hint I put in the last chapter (I think it was the last one) about what was wrong with Rose. Tut tut I will have to make all future clues more obvious.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I have been feeling quite uninspired lately. That and customers keep coming in the store and interrupting me. Urg….. I had such a great weekend. I went on one of Canada's largest indoor roller coasters. Sooo much fun. Someone should write a fic about the Doctor and a roller coaster. Maybe I will. One day after this fic is kaput.**

**Disclaimer: The only thing I get out of writing this is reviews. Which make it so worth it. Thanks to you all by the way.**

The emergency workers at New Seattle Grace hospital were having a bad day. A whole wing at the University of Mars had collapsed due to a very localized earthquake and that meant one thing: carnage. Of course New Seattle Grace was equipped with the very latest and greatest medical equipment but, as in every major disaster, they were hardly ready for the sheer volume of patients. Things were just slowing down when Rose Tyler was brought in.

"Stop fussing. You're making me nervous," commanded Rose.

The Doctor, who had been opening and closing the drapes around Rose's hospital bed, sighed and settled down next to her feet. "Nearly 98,000 years in your future and they still can't do any better than old curtains in an emergency room. And when is someone going to coming to look at you?"

"They've just had a major disaster, Doctor. They are busy looking after the really injured people," she answered, reaching up a hand to her now throbbing temple.

Unable to sit any longer, the Doctor resumed his pacing. "I should have just taken you to the TARDIS. I could have had that leg fixed up ages ago."

"Then who would fix that gash in the back of your head?"

He rubbed the seeping wound, feeling blood and matted hair. "I'd forgotten all about it"

"If I were you," smirked Rose, "I'd worry less about me and more about yourself. What if your hair never grows in properly? Imagine, you might be stuck with a bald spot for the rest of your life, or until I decide to absorb the time vortex again."

He fixed his somber brown eyes on her. "Rose, that isn't something to joke about."

"Sorry," she muttered, eyes rolling in her head. "I forgot how serious you are about your hair. You're as bad as Shareen."

"I wasn't talking about my hair," he said, al the while pacing back and forth.

Rose suspected that the Doctor's constant moving about and fiddling with the curtains were beginning to annoy everyone around them. A very harried looking doctor in a white lab coat wandered across the room.

"Alright Mrs…" he glanced at his clipboard, "Smith. I'm Dr. Denton. I'll just get you stitched up so both of you can be on your way."

"Stitches!" the Doctor gasped. "You don't still use stitches. That's barbaric."

Unfazed, Dr. Denton answered, "It's just a phrase Mr. Smith. I'll be using a micro-dermal laser knitter. There shouldn't even be a scar." He smiled at Rose.

As Dr. Denton ran the odd little device over Rose's wound the Doctor scrutinized every movement. His little comments about incompetent doctors and outdated technology began to wear Dr. Denton and Rose's nerves very thin.

Finally, after a particularly rude remark about apes practicing medicine Rose lost her temper. "Out," she screamed.

Confusion spread across the Doctor's face. "Rose, I…"

"Get out. Leave the 'silly ape' to do his work."

The Doctor quelled under her menacing gaze and disappeared behind the curtain. Dr. Denton suppressed a grin. "Is he always like that?"

"Sometimes he's worse," she muttered.

"Been married long?" he asked.

Without thinking Rose answered, "'Bout two years." The lie just blurted out completely of it's own accord. Rose shook her head a little, suddenly frightened of how easy it was to forget that they weren't a couple, that they would never be a couple.

The curtains opened and a woman walked in as Dr. Denton closed up the dermal knitter. "I'm sorry ma'am," h started, "But I'm with a patient. If you wait outside someone will be right with you."

The woman flashed a brilliantly fake smile. "Actually I was hoping to talk to Mrs. Smith." The last word stretched out a fraction of a second longer than normal.

"Well, I'm sorry but Mrs. Smith has had a very long day and needs her rest," he explained.

Curious, Rose questioned the woman, "Why do you want to talk with me?"

"I'm investigating the earthquake. I need to interview as many survivors as possible."

Dr. Denton opened his mouth to protest but Rose placed her hand on his arm, stopping him. "It's fine," she assured him. "Maybe if I'm busy answering questions the Doc…my husband will let you stitch up the gash in his head."

Dr. Denton nodded. "Alright, but no more than ten minutes."

Perfect pearly teeth glinted back at him. "Ten minutes will be more than sufficient."

"I'm sorry what was your name?" Rose asked as the woman sat gracefully in a chair close to the bed.

"Your name is far more important Mrs…Smith." Each syllable rolled elegantly off her tongue. "So, where were you born?"

"London."

"Hmmm," the woman mused, "And what year was that?"

"Umm… why does that matter?"

"I'm just trying to get some background information, Miss Tyler," the woman purred. "So I need your age, birthday and your mother's full name."

"Tyler?"

"I'm sorry," the woman queried, "Was that your mother's name?"

"You called me Rose Tyler."

Realization crossed the woman's elegant features. "Oh dear, I slipped."

Rose tried to move put a cold, delicate hand shot out, grabbing her by the wrist. She sat frozen in place, unable to move.

"Now, now dear. Don't go running off. I have many, many questions fro you.

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWD

Dr. Denton found Mr. Smith talking to a near-by vending machine.

"Oh come on I asked for chocolate. This isn't even brown," the man muttered."

The machine whirred and answered in a high-pitched whine. "You are mistaken, sir. That product has been simulated to emulate chocolate while providing all the essential nutrients of an entire meal."

"But that's not the point. Chocolate is supposed to be unhealthy."

"Problem?" asked Dr. Denton.

The Doctor looked up, startled. "Oh I just wanted to get something for Rose. A peace offering." He shrugged. "I seem to be messing up a lot lately."

The other man smiled. "Your wife asked me to take a look at that gash in your head."

"Oh, I'm fine. You have tons of other people to look after. I should really be getting back to Rose."

"It will just take a second Mr. Smith."

The Doctor gave in and let the younger man administer to his wound. Dr. Denton chatted away in a friendly manner. He asked many questions and before long the two men were busily discussing the merits of toothpaste.

The Doctor laughed. "…Rose prefers cinnamon but I like banana. On morning she put some of mine on by accident… Well I heard about that for weeks. Maybe that's why she doesn't want to kiss me," he mused.

"Well you're all done Mr. Smith. Take it easy and try to stay out of trouble while that heals."

"Oh John Smith never gets into trouble. Nope. Simple, boring life, beans on toast for breakfast, comes home to his beautiful wife every evening. No trouble at all."

Dr. Denton shook his head and moved on. _Banana toothpaste._

The Doctor's good mood evaporated as he found the bed where he left Rose empty. Irritated, he pulled back the curtains and glanced around. _Don't wander off. Rule number one and you always forget it Rose, _he thought. A muffled noise made him turn around. The noise became louder as he approached the bed. He lifted the pillow. A mobile phone lay flashing and vibrating on the sheets. He picked it up, placing it to his ear.

"Hello Doctor."

**A/N: Okay I'm sorry it was a bit short and I'm sorry it took so long to update. But really I think I was spoilin you all. Some people only update like once a week. I was posting a new chapter like every other day. I think I'm getting close to the end of this fic. I would guess another 5 or 6 chappies. Things should move fairly fast now. I hope. Unless of course I get side tracked. Which I do a lot. Anyway reviews are love and I live alone with only a cat to talk to so I need love.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Ok I know this took forever to update. Sorry times a million. There wasn't really a good reason. I started writing another fic. It has a very different plot and is a lot darker. I won't start posting it until this one is done. Anyway you want this story so I shall begin.**

**Disclaimer: Why do I even bother with this thing? No one would seriously believe that I own Dr. Who.**

"Hello Doctor."

The Doctor's reply was forceful. Anyone standing within ten feet flinched at the harsh tone. "Who is this? What have you done with Rose?"

A tinkling female laugh echoed through the earpiece. "Careful Doctor. You don't want to upset me."

"If you have laid one hand on my wife I'll…"

"It's curious," the voice interrupted, "how quickly you forget that you have no wife."

The Doctor paused briefly before speaking in a clear cold tone, full of venom and fire. "I am giving you one last chance. Where is Rose?"

"Ooo so very scary. But I think it is I who will be setting the terms."

"What do you want?"

He was answered with a terrible, cackle. "Nothing. I want you to do nothing. The last thing I need is for you to interfere in my plans. I do hope they go quickly. Your 'wife' looks a little worse for wear. Well I'm afraid that is all the time I have for you today, busy schedule and all. Remember Doctor, do nothing."

The phone went dead. Immediately the Doctor scrambled for his sonic screwdriver in his pocket. He had only begun scanning the phone when it once again rang. Flipping it open, he placed it to his ear.

"Oh Doctor, I forgot," the voice said, "Don't bother trying to trace the call. You have no idea how much that ancient 20th century communicator cost but it was worth it. Keep it on you, maybe next time I will let you speak to dear Rosie."

Again the line went dead. Barely a second had passed before the Doctor sprung to action. Clearly this woman had no idea who she was dealing with. If she wanted the Doctor to NOT act taking Rose away from him was the wrong way to go about it. Actually putting Rose in any danger could possibly have been the worst thing she could have done.

Even the TARDIS was thrumming with anxiety as the Doctor hooked various wires and cords to the mobile phone. The peaceful humming had been replaced by a steady rumbling, causing the consol to quiver ever so slightly. "I'll get her back," the Doctor assured his machine, his voice strong and unwavering. "And I won't let anything take her from me again."

The Doctor knew this was a promise he could not keep. The life he led was not always conducive to the well being of his companions. Recently he had been haunted be the thought of Rose leaving him to live a more normal life. After the many people he had shared space and time with he had never been so afraid of losing them, as he feared losing Rose. Even if she stayed and wasn't killed or kidnapped she would still one day be taken from him. Of all the species in all the universes, he had to fallen, quite hard (something like a piano pushed off the Empire States building, complete with the lovely chaotic clang when it hits the ground) for a silly human girl.

After much tweaking and messing about with various switches and knobs the Doctor threw his hands up in the air and kicked the console. "Oh why do the bad guys always have to be smart? Why can't they be blundering idiots?" he whined. "Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to make the phone signal impossible to track. Using an ancient mobile device makes it incompatible with all commercial and non-commercial networks and therefore no trail. It's really quite brilliant. But how?"

He slid to the floor, momentarily defeated. Unconsciously, he reached a hand in his right pocket and fiddling with something inside. Once again his mind wandered to Rose, so thin and weak these days. He ran his fingers through his hair in utter frustration. How long did Rose have before she succumbed to her illness? A month, a week, a day? He had tried to hide his anxiety and worry as he started to realize that she was dying. There were so many unknowns about Rose's condition but he was positive

With a scream of complete helplessness and despair he jumped to his feet, pulling the mobile device free of its tangle of wires. And then it came to him. He could have hit himself on the head a dozen times with the simplicity of the answer. Rose would have seen it within the first few minutes but he, with his superior alien intellect, had wasted several hours. Several hours that Rose may not have had to spare. Filled with new hope and determination, the Doctor pocketed the phone and ran through the TARDIS' doors.

XxXxXxX

Rose had missed the whole conversation between the Doctor and her captor. This was due entirely to the very potent sedative that had been injected into her neck upon arrival. She was carried, none to gently, by two humanoids dressed in black down a long dank hallway until they reached a cell door. Rose had lost a lot of weight recently and her frail body was thrown through the air with very little from the two figures. It was, perhaps, a mercy that Rose was unconscious when her skull collided against the far wall with a sickening thud, leaving a trail of blood running down the wall as she slid into a crumpled heap.

…

This time Rose knew it was a dream. She stood on the bank of a raging river, looking out over to the far shore. Unlike the ground she stood on the bank opposite was covered in lush green grass, touched by golden sunlight. Her own feet rested on course sand and bare earth that only yielded thorny bushes and swamp scrub.

Eyes resting on the horizon, Rose murmured, "It's beautiful."

"I know," came a voice next to her.

Rose glanced down to find a small blonde child standing barefoot on the beach, gazing across the water. "What is it?" Rose asked.

"The other side," answered the small voice.

"The other side?" Rose questioned, "Am I dead?"

"No," replied the child, eyes fixed on the distant shore.

"Then why am I here?"

"Being here… being able to look at the other side can only be caused by two things."

"And they are…" prompted Rose.

The child sighed and with some effort tore her gaze away, choosing to stare at the sand. Finally, after a few moments she spoke, her voice sad. "To be here means a person is either close to passing on or is stuck. For you it is the first."

"But for you it is the second?" Rose queried.

A smile crept across the little girl's face. "Not anymore." She pointed to a small wooden boat perched on the shore.

Rose followed the child down, watching her try to push the tiny craft out. The once raging waves stilled in a matter of seconds. Rose steadied the sides as the small girl climbed in. "Who is waiting for you over on that side?" she asked.

A set of perfect blue eyes fixed on Rose. "Everyone," she answered, finally. "I'm the only one left over here."

"My dad's over there," Rose murmured quietly. "But I've still got mum and the Doctor. I'm not ready to leave them behind yet."

The girl looked down, apparently busy gathering the oars.

"I'll push you out, shall I?" Rose began to shove the little craft out.

"Wait," called the child, "You need this." A small hand grabbed Rose's wrist and placed a small object in her palm. A sudden urgency overcame the child and she began to row fervently away.

A single earring now lay in Rose's hand. Small and dainty, it was identical to the one in her own ear, complete with two small leaves and a pink stone.

A splash broke Rose's concentration. The boat floated away, completely unmanned as a blond head moved toward the shore. Rose ran to help the sodden girl as she crawled from the water.

A silver tear slid down the small girl's flawless face. "I'm sorry. I wanted so much to join them," she sobbed, pointing over the water. "I was willing to do anything. But I can't do that to you. I'm sorry…so, so sorry."

Rose knelt down; placing her arms around the girl, she calmly muttered, "You don't need to be sorry. You haven't done anything to me."

The wracking sobbing grew in intensity as the girl answered, "I tried to kill you. I'm killing you now."

Rose's grip on the child loosened and she pulled back to stare into the small girl's blue eyes. "I don't understand… Are you making me sick?"

**A/N: I wasn't going to end it there but it is late and I have to get up at six in the morning to clean a silly stall for a horse and morning comes too fast. Here's an interesting piece of trivia for you. There is actually a typo in the title of this fic. It was originally supposed to be called "This is Sickness" which is a quote from my favorite doc who episode (does anyone know which one that is).**

**Anyway plz review and sorry again for the really long break between updates,**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I think someone should make up a special story rating scale that is directly proportioned to how many death threats a person receives if he/she doesn't continue. Who knew writing fan fic could be so dangerous. **

**Oh and just a little side note. Jammies2000 pointed out that the Doctor could always just trace Rose's TARDIS key. I meant to put something in chapter 14 about Rose having to give the Doc her key when she was admitted to the hospital but I forgot. Oops. Anyway I'll go back and change that later so for now just assume Rose doesn't have her key on her person.**

**Disclaimer: Too poor to own Doctor who, and frankly not talented enough anyway.**

Paslok breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the minute hand on the clock reached the hour. Lunchtime. Paslok was probably the only being in the whole city that actually had a clock with hands. Originally built on 22nd century earth, the clock had to be reset every morning because the Martian day was thirty-seven minutes longer than an earth day. The very old grey clock was only one of many unusual items lying around the dark, dusty shop. A basket in one corner held a variety of tubes containing an odd substance called 'toothpaste'. Paslok was particularly proud of one tube that had never even been opened. Of course that one was kept on display behind Everclean Glass along with other extremely rare items such as: a Styrofoam cup (Styrofoam had been banned from being produced over 100,000 years ago), a pink disposable razor (used), and a tiny vile of thick, black goo marked 'crude oil'.

Born on Crespic, (a planet that later broke into several pieces, one of these being Crespallion, home of the unfortunate plumber, Raffalo) Paslok had moved to Mars and set up a rather successful antique business that dealt exclusively in classic earth objects. Flipping the open sign over (yet another antique artifact), Paslok leaned back in his comfortable Lazy-Boy recliner and placed two hairy, dull grey feet on the counter. He had just closed his eyes when a sharp banging issued from the door.

A man wearing a brown suit and a determined expression pounded relentlessly on the glass. Paslok pointed at a large sign in the window that said 'Closed 12-1 for lunch'. The man glanced at the sign briefly before banging on the door again. Paslok just leaned back in his chair, choosing to ignore the man. He didn't really care about P.R. at the moment. He heard a faint buzzing and the door opened.

"Hey," screamed Paslok, "You can't do that. That door was locked."

"Yah, sorry about that I just need to ask you a few questions," the man said, unabashed. "My colleague, Dr. Geoffrey Paxton, sent me over here. He said you were an expert on old Earth artifacts."

Paslok blushed with obvious pride, which turned his skin from dull grey to sickly green. "Well I guess when you have been in this market for as long as I have you pick up a few things."

"Great," the man answered, rather hurriedly, "I'm the Doctor by the way. Have you seen an old cell phone like this one around?" The Doctor held up a shiny black mobile.

Paslok stared at the device. "Why yes," he stammered, "I sold a pair of those, well not two weeks ago. You had no idea the trouble I had trying to acquire those particular pieces."

"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked.

"I had a client request a set of ancient mobile communicators like that. I don't usually look for certain items for people but..."

"But…what?" the Doctor prompted.

"Well lets just say it was a very lucrative deal," purred Paslok. "I must admit that I did not expect to be successful. The client was very specific."

"How so?"

Paslok's large, grey, eyes widened. "She wanted two working models of that ancient mobile device."

The Doctor turned the mobile over in his hands. "What is so special about them anyway?"

"Apparently they are designed to communicate with each other without a network. That kind of technology has been banned for since the late twenty-second century."

"Actually since the thirteenth Geneva proclamation of 2078," muttered the Doctor. "Of course! That's why I can't trace it. But that leaves a bit of a problem."

Curiosity now piqued, Paslok asked, "What problem?"

The Doctor looked up, eyes dark and spoke with a voice low and full of passion. "The problem is that you carelessly sold an illegal device to the person who kidnapped my wife…I mean friend…whatever." He shook his head before continuing. "And now, thanks to your quest for riches, I have no way of tracking her."

Paslok backed away. The wrath of a Time Lord was terrible enough without adding the fact that said Time Lord's companion was in danger, maybe even dying. "Well," he stuttered, "Would an address help?"

"Huh?"

"I had to deliver the mobile devices," explained Paslok. "Funny place to live, underneath the university."

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Well have you been making me sick?" Rose asked the small, blonde haired child again.

The little girl looked down, her light clothing still dripping in water from her swim to shore. "Yes," she whispered.

"Why?"

"I…" she sniffed, "I just wanted to join my family so badly."

Rose held up the earring, the pink stone dangled loosely. "This has something to do with this doesn't it?"

The child nodded. "My people used the stone to capture our life force when we died. That energy was then used to fuel our economy, but my life energy was never released so I've been trapped on this side." She looked out over the water to the golden shore opposite. "I thought you could take my place here."

"I've seen this type of stone before," Rose murmured. "It's called Klaurtz."

The child nodded in agreement.

Rose stared at the grief stricken girl and her face softened. "What made you change your mind and come back?"

"I couldn't do that to you. Your keeper holds you to life just by making you fight that little bit harder." The girl swallowed and then continued. "I realized that you wouldn't be the only one who suffered if you remained trapped here. It may be too late now anyway."

"What do you mean," queried Rose.

"Well if you are close enough to death to be standing here and staring over at the far shore then you may already be too far gone." The girl sighed. "Any minute now a boat could appear to take you across."

"And what about you?"

"I will remain here until I am set free."

After that there didn't seem to be much left to say. They both sat in the rough sand, gazing at the far shore. The child's mind dwelt with her people on the other side while Rose's thoughts strayed to a brown haired man in pinstriped suit.

They sat there in silence for a long time. It could have been days or weeks or just mere hours, there was no real way of telling. Suddenly Rose saw a flash of light and the world began to dim around her. She grabbed onto the child's arm. "What's happening?"

The girl looked up at her. "I'm not sure but I think your keeper is pulling you back."

Though she wasn't moving, Rose felt like she was being dragged. Clutching onto the girl tighter she looked straight into her eyes and said, "I will find a way to release you."

"No," the child answered. "If my life energy is released it may devour you."

Still holding on tightly, Rose answered, "I may not be long for that world anyway."

Tears formed in the child's eyes and as Rose let go she heard a last whispered 'Sorry'.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Rose actually didn't see much upon opening her eyes. This was due mostly to the fact that everything had become dark and blurry. She blinked several times but her vision did not improve. Through the pain, which was immense, she became aware of the warmth of another body wrapped around her own, rocking her gently back and forth and stroking her hair. Words. Yes someone was speaking to her. Slowly the soothing sound pulled her from her groggy state and cleared her head of the pain until she could comprehend what was being said.

"Not Rose…not her too. Please Rose. Come back…oh Rose please."

The edge of despair made that familiar voice almost unrecognizable. She stirred and the movement sent a new wave of pain to her head causing a slight whimper to escape her lips.

The arms that held her tightened and then leaned her back. She could make out the fuzzy outline of the Doctor's face. "Rose," he said, voice filled with relief. "Just hang in there. I'm going to get you out of here."

"How did you get here?" she croaked. Of course 'here' was a rather vague concept to Rose at the moment. A good question might have been 'Where am I?' but unfortunately her brain was almost completely occupied by the stabbing pain in her skull.

"Shhhh," he whispered back, "How I got here is rather a rather complicated story. Lets just say it involved a lot of running and sneaking and even a bit of hopping. The important thing is that no one else knows I'm here and I'd like it to stay that way so we'll just be on our way." He rose to his feet, lifting her up with him. Though he tried not to jostle her too much she still let out a weak moan.

Through barely open eyelids, Rose watched the corridor walls drift by. They stopped and she heard the Doctor quietly open a door. They were met with a sudden scurrying of feet and voices of alarm.

"Well I guess there goes my plan of sneaking out unnoticed," the Doctor commented.

**A/N: Well I hadn't meant to leave it there but whatever. I can't write anymore. I actually have a very good reason for taking a little while with this update. You see I managed to give myself a nice little head injury. I won't tell you how (its fairly embarrassing). Lets just say I know exactly how Rose is feeling in this chapter. Maybe it was my punishment for being so mean to her.**

**I am getting down to the end. Only two more chapters (maybe I'll put them together into one) and an epilogue. After that I'm going to start running because you guys are going to be chasing me with big sticks after you read the ending I have planned. Hehehehe That got you curious, eh?**

**Anyway plz, plz, plz, plz, plz review.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Okay I know I didn't update for a loooooooooong time. I was busy with school. I had this massive research thing to do and well this got put on the back burner. Sorry. Will you ever forgive me?**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Doctor Who but I asked Santa.**

"I don't suppose you lot would just let me quietly back through the door and forget I was ever here?" the Doctor asked hopefully.

His reply came in the form of several scary looking guns pointed at his chest.

"Well it was worth a try," he muttered.

A woman stepped through the crowd of guns. She was very tall and willowy thin. She might have looked human except there was something unexplainably wrong about her. Her skin was just too shiny and her eyes too cold. "Well Doctor," she said, voice dripping with anger. "It appears that you have ignored my demands." Her bottom lip curled. "Now she will pay the price."

The Doctor took a step back only to hit a wall. His grip on Rose's frail body tightened protectively, causing her to moan in pain. _Hold on Rose,_ he begged. To the strange woman he asked, "Who are you?"

She laughed. "Oh Doctor that hardly matters but since you are so curious you can just call me Betty." At his look of confusion she continued. "Oh I know its such a silly name for a villain but having a name like Arachnea or Mrs. Evil just draws too much attention. Wouldn't you agree?"

The Doctor was not really processing what she was saying. He was much more focused on developing an escape plan. Upon a quick scan of the room he ascertained that there were six guards, all carrying class 4 disruptor rifles; two exits, both had been secured; and no human sized ventilation shafts. In other words he and Rose were fairly stuck. They had been in situations like this hundreds of times but as the Doctor clung to his thin bundle, feeling her heart beat faintly against his chest, he felt panic rising in throat. Her eyelids fluttered open and for a moment, and at the same time eternity, the two weary travelers locked eyes. The Doctor saw her overwhelming pain and fear but underneath he could see her utter trust in him. In that instance he suddenly found himself unable to maintain the barriers that masked his emotions. With that single look he told her everything that he couldn't bring himself to say and she understood.

"Doctor?" The moment was lost as the sickly, sweet voice of their captor rang throughout the room. "Are you coming?"

He looked up to see Betty standing next to an open door on the opposite side of the room. "Do I have a choice?" he asked coldly.

"Nope."

A guard moved to take Rose from his arms but the Doctor turned away. "Touch her and I will kill you," he muttered with such conviction that the guard hesitated.

Betty waved her hand in the air. "Oh let him hold on to his precious Rosiekins. Just get him moving."

The guards prodded him in the back and got him moving. The brisk pace at which they moved through countless hallways obviously took a toll on Rose. The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief when Betty halted at a door. Not just any door but a very large one bearing a sign saying 'Keep Out' in very large red and yellow letters. A faint hum issued from the other side and the guards sidled around nervously.

"Guard the door," Betty ordered as she punched at the keypad.

The Doctor's curiosity got the better of him and he followed her hesitantly. Unfortunately the room was fairly ordinary, despite the fact that it was very large and circular and very empty. "Is there something you wanted to show me?" the Doctor looked at the strange woman curiously.

"Yes, Doctor. You can leave Rose over there for a minute." She nodded towards an old sofa next to the door.

"Rose stays with me," he answered violently.

"Suit yourself," Betty shrugged, "but I'm not sure how you plan on climbing that ladder while holding on to her." She pointed to a fifty-foot ladder bolted to the wall. It appeared to lead out onto a suspended metal platform.

Frowning, the Doctor moved over to the sofa and laid Rose down gently. He pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes and whispered, "I'll get you out of here. I promise. Just hold on." Rose grabbed frantically at his hand as he moved away. Leaning down he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead and her grip loosened.

He turned towards his captor with fire in his eyes. Her brilliant smile faltered for a moment. "This way," she said, going ahead of him on the ladder. From the platform, the Doctor could see the entire room in its magnificence. From the floor he hadn't noticed the strange pattern on the centre of the concrete floor. Normally he would be spouting off his gob in a situation, commenting on the size of the room or forming theories and being generally annoying. At that particular time, however, all his thoughts lay with the pathetic life form sprawled on a ratty old couch by the door.

"So, Doctor, what do you think?" asked Betty.

Forcing his eyes away from Rose, the Doctor answered, "What do I think about what?"

Betty grinned and pressed a large button on a nearby control panel. The swirling patterns on the floor glowed momentarily and then disappeared along with a large circular section of the floor, revealing a deep cavern. A massive ball of twisting, green smoke and energy hovered inside.

The Doctor gasped. "That's an eternity generator."

"Yes."

"But," he sputtered, "You shouldn't have that kind of technology. That's impossible. It's wrong."

Betty only grinned evilly. "You are so quick to judge. This generator could fuel an entire planet for a thousand years."

"At the cost of this one. You're feeding off the energy, the very soul of this planet and it's people," he explained.

"An acceptable cost."

"So," the Doctor mused, "That is what pulled my ship in."

"I assure you Doctor, that was completely unintentional. The last thing we wanted was to attract the attention of someone like you."

"How is it that you know about me?" he queried.

She shrugged. "Along with an energy surge a number of files floated into the data banks when your TARDIS connected with the generator. You live a very eventful life."

"You shouldn't be snooping around in other people's lives."

"Hypocrite," she cackled. "You do it all the time."

"That's beside the point," he muttered. "What am I doing here anyway? I thought you were trying NOT to get my attention."

Betty grinned. "Well since you so rudely barged in here I thought you might wish to witness the final phase. The generator has been sitting in stasis, gaining energy. I'm going to turn it on." And with that she hit the button. (It was, of course, red and labeled 'Do Not Press'.)

XxXxXxXx

Rose drifted in a haze of pain. She was aware of everything around her but somehow none of it seemed to matter. Something tingled at the back of her mind after the Doctor lay her down on the sofa. She tried to concentrate but her thoughts slipped away. Oh the pain. It consumed her very being.

Girl…earring…promise.

When the hole in the floor opened up Rose could feel the radiating from within the chasm. And then there was a flash of energy as the generator turned on and she knew what to do.

XxXxXxXx

The Doctor stood, horrified as the green ball of energy grew brighter. It would suck the life out of every unprotected being on the planet but that did not concern him. His concern only lay with one soul and she was lying helpless fifty feet below him.

Betty's voice rose in panic above the whooshing of the machine, "What is she doing?"

The Doctor's attention was directed to the lone figure of Rose crawling across the floor towards the pit.

"ROSE! NO!"

XxXxXxXx

Rose was unaware of the Doctor's cries and his body hurtling down the ladder to get to her. She had no idea of the grief and fear in his voice as he tried to reach her. Her only focus was the strange energy coming from the centre of the room. In what seemed like eons she reached the edge of the chasm and looked down.

What she saw took her breath away. Tendrils of smoke rose up to greet her, tickling her face. It seemed so inviting. Hands shaking, she removed the lone pink earring and tossed it into the cloud of energy.

For a moment nothing happened and then time stopped. Rose watched asthe ghostly figure of a child floated upwards out of the green cloud.

"Thank you," the child whispered, stretching out her hand. Rose took touched the girl's small palm.

Time resumed and the generator exploded in a cloud of flame.

**A/N: Yah I know it's a cliffie but I couldn't resist. It was too perfect. I know Betty was a shoddy villain but I don't care. All of you who really cared about the strange energy source put up your hands. No put your hand down Doctor. But seriously if Betty didn't want the Doc poking around she shouldn't have captured Rose. I think I'm gonna put her on the list of hopelessly dumb baddies.**

**Review Plz.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Some angst in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Oh please Santa, give me Doctor Who for Xmas. I'll even settle for just DT.**

The force of the explosion threw the Doctor against the wall. Almost immediately, the ball of flame ceased to expand and began to collapse in on itself before fizzling and disappearing into nothingness.

The Doctor's pounding hearts seemed to echo throughout the massive room. And then the Doctor saw her. The flames should have consumed the tiny figure but there she lay, unmoving.

For the first time the Doctor did not want to rush over to his Rose. Already his mind filled with the images of what was to come. He would walk over, praying that she would stir or show some kind of life, all the while knowing that she would never move again. Then he would lean down to her face, willing her cool breath to touch his cheek. But it wouldn't come. The once perfect hand, now probably charred, would make no response as he lifted it to his lips. And finally, he would place an ear to her chest only to hear the sound of his own hearts breaking.

What would he say to Jackie?

If he never got up from his crumpled heap on the floor he would never have to confirm that she was dead. But…what if maybe, just maybe, she was alive? Hope forced him to stumble across the floor and kneel down at her side. Turning Rose over on her side, the Doctor stared at her face. Her skin was strangely unmarked by flame. Even his own hands, though he had been a good sixty feet away, were covered in black ash. Though disheveled, Rose didn't bear any signs of being anywhere near the explosion.

He looked down at her left hand. A strange purple mark, almost in the shape of a hand, surrounded her wrist. He peered closer but jumped back as Rose let out a pitiful moan. Instantly the Doctor was at her side again, both hands on the side of her face.

"Rose," he gasped, hardly believing she was alive. "Rose, can you hear me?"

Her eyelids flickered open. Glazed and unfocused, her eyes looked past him. Her lips moved but no sound came out.

"Shhh. Don't talk," the Doctor begged her. "Save your strength. Just hold on."

Giving no sign that she had heard him, Rose continued to mumble. The words grew stronger and until he could faintly make them out.

"She…saved me. Too…late. Tell him…I…" She became incoherent and then sagged.

XxXxXxXx

Waves lapped at the side of Rose's tiny skiff. She lay on her back, looking up at the bright blue sky. Her pain was gone, replaced by a sense of total peace. The oars drifted lazily in the water, apparently not needed because the boat glided effortlessly towards its destination.

Rose's reverie was interrupted by a slight bump. She had reached the shore. Sitting up, she took in her surroundings. The shore was even more beautiful than she had imagined. She turned to find herself staring into the bright eyes of a small blonde child.

"You aren't supposed to be here."

Confused, Rose asked, "What do you mean?"

The child continued to stare, wide-eyed. "I protected you. So why are you here?"

For some reason flashes of recent memory, that had seemed so unimportant to Rose during her crossing, came to her mind. "I'm..I'm not sure," Rose stammered. "My body was dying anyway. I was in so much pain." Rose stood up in the boat.

"Don't get out!"

Startled, Rose sat back down. "Why not."

"Once you set foot on the shore you are here forever," the girl explained.

"You mean I'm not dead?" queried Rose.

"I'm not sure," the child answered. "Your body may still be clinging to life but once you get out it will be over. You can never go back."

"Well what if I don't want to go back!' Rose demanded.

"How can you say that when he clings to you so desperately?" shouted the small girl.

Taken aback, Rose asked, "What do you mean?"

The child lifted a hand, waving it over the water. Rose looked down to see an image reflected on the surface. She saw her body, so thin and broken, lying in her old room in the TARDIS. It hardly resembled her room now with all the strange alien machines scattered about. Though her eyes were closed, the Rose in the image did not reflect peace on her face. Her brow was furled in agony. So many tubes and wires fed into her body that she hardly resembled a human being anymore.

The Doctor sat by her side, grasping her hand and moving his lips. Every so often he would glance up to look at a nearby monitor but he then look away quickly as if he didn't want to believe what it said. A machine flashed a red warning light and suddenly the Doctor jumped onto the bed next to her, bringing her body as close to his as possible. He pressed her against him and whispered something in her ear. The Rose in the boat looked away, tears flowing down her face.

"Right now you have a choice, Rose," the girl pleaded. "Not many people get that."

"What do I do?"

The girl smiled. "It's easy. All you need to do is choose."

Rose looked back at the image of herself. The Doctor still clung desperately to her small form. "I want to be with him," Rose said finally.

Immediately she felt her something pulling her away from the shore. As she disappeared Rose called out to the girl. "Wait! I never asked your name."

A soft voice echoed in her head. "Teale."

XxXxXxXx

White hot agony greeted Rose as she returned to her body. Vaguely she became aware of arms around her and a voice murmuring in her ear. Though unable to focus enough to hear what was being said, Rose concentrated on the sound and also on the warm breath on her cheek. Slowly the pain filtered away, turning into a dull ache. She fell back into the blackness.

…

When awareness returned to Rose her head felt significantly less foggy. Cautiously she cracked her eyes open but the brightness of the room forced them closed again.

"Rose?" His voice cracked with emotion as he said her name. Feeling his hand in her palm she gave it a weak squeeze.

"Too bright," she murmured.

The sonic screwdriver buzzed. "Try again," he said softly.

Again Rose cracked her eyes to reveal a much dimmer room. Turning her head she looked upon the Doctor's face. His hair stuck out in funny places and clearly he hadn't shaven in days. His cheeks even sported blackish soot from the explosion making the lines where tears had fallen more visible.

She grinned. "You've looked better Doctor."

He broke into a gloriously happy fit of laughter, eyes sparkling with glee. "Rose Tyler you are absolutely correct. I'm defiantly not at my best right now."

Rose tried to sit up but he placed a hand on her chest, keeping her in place. "Lets just take this slowly. Okay?" he insisted.

She sighed, settling back down into the pillows. "How long?" she asked, her voice cracking from disuse.

"Too long."

She raised her eyebrows, demanding an answer.

Sighing, he said, "Four days, thirteen hours and...oh…say twenty-two minutes. Give or take."

Rose was surprised. Given his appearance she would have believed that the explosion just happened. "Have you even moved from my side?"

He stared at the ceiling, pondering this for a few moments before answering. "Nope." He smiled and just stared into her eyes. Then he continued in a low, faltering voice. "I couldn't leave you in case you…I wanted to be there if you…"

"If I died." She finished for him. Dim memories floated into her mind, arms holding her close and a voice in her ear, anchoring her to reality. "You lying next to me."

"I thought it was the end," he murmured. "I didn't want you to be alone."

"Oh I'm tough Doctor. You are going to be stuck with me for a long time."

He smiled. "I hope so. Anyway, Miss Tyler, I should be very cross with you. After that stunt you should be dead. Not that I'm complaining, but next time you save the world try to do it in a less self destructive manner. Okay?"

"Oh all right," Rose whined.

"Good," he stated. "Now what did you do?"

She opened her mouth to speak but before any words came out he stopped her. "Actually, I think you should rest some more. Plenty of time for explanations."

"Okay," she muttered, already half asleep.

…

For Rose the road to recovery was long and hard. Barely conscious for more than ten minutes at a time, she was completely bedridden for the first week. By the second week, Rose began moving around a bit while the Doctor hovered at her side. Not only did she struggle with constant fatigue but she also had difficulty keeping food down. Apparently nausea and severe headaches were symptoms of Klaurtz withdrawal. Eventually the Doctor's constant lingering at her shoulder sent drove Rose completely crazy and she sent the Doctor back to work. At first he refused outright but Rose insisted. He finally agreed so long as Rose submitted to an unnecessarily long list of conditions.

The University of Mars was glad to have the Dr. John Smith on board. It had to be shut down for a month after the earthquake and then after finding seven bodies in the basement they really couldn't afford to lose any staff.

Betty and the guards had died instantly after the eternity generator collapsed. The Doctor tried to explain it but all Rose got was that it had something to do with the field they used to protect their souls from getting ripped out with the rest of the planet. Frankly Rose didn't really care.

Her memory of the brief captivity was very vague. Even the conversations with Teale, which had first been very clear in her Rose's mind, began to fade. Domestic life took over.

…

Rose's mobile (the Doctor managed to repair it after the earthquake) had a habit of ringing at the most inconvenient times. She happened to be arguing with the TARDIS washing machine. A fairly one sided conversation as it was far from sentient but that hardly stopped Rose from uttering a steady stream of unrepeatable words.

"What," she screamed into the phone.

"Have I caught you at a bad time?" the Doctor's voice issued from the earpiece.

"Oh it's just that the washer is shooting soap out the top again."

"Try hitting it with a hammer," he suggested.

She sighed. "I don't think that's gonna work."

"Why not?" he asked. "Works for me all the time with the TARDIS."

"Oh really? So it worked when you brought me home twelve months late, and when we ended up in Scotland. Oh and what about when we were going to see Elvis, huh?"

He paused. "Tell you what. I'll get you a new washer."

"Sounds good to me cuz if I'm tired of battling this thing to wash your work suits."

"So anyway," he continued. "What do you want me to bring home for din din? I fancy Venutian cuisine. What about you?"

"Doctor," Rose replied, exasperated. "It's been like a month. I'm sure that doing a bit of cooking isn't gonna kill me."

"Ya, well it might kill me," he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Rose demanded.

The Doctor backtracked. "Oh nothing at all. Venutian it is. Be home in a bit."

Rose hung up and went back to doing the laundry.

Later, after they had eaten, the Doctor and Rose settled down on a sofa to watch the holo-news. The Doctor had been far more attentive since Rose's near death experience. He always found excuses to be close to her when he was home, frequently even crawling into her bed after she fell asleep. Not that Rose complained, of course. The first time she had been shocked to wake up snuggled in his arms but he just looked at her and said, "I just needed to know you were okay." She shrugged it off, willing to enjoy this small comfort while it lasted.

As she leaned against his shoulder on the sofa, Rose wondered if he was aware that he had been stroking her hair for the last ten minutes.

"How was your day?" he asked during a commercial.

"Ok," she replied lazily.

"Did you get any more dizzy spells?"

"Twice," she answered. "Once when I got out of the shower and another after my fight with the laundry."

"Hmmm," he muttered, concern evident on his face. "Were you able to eat a bit more?"

"A bit," Rose said dismissively. Despite being completely without contact with the Klaurtz earring for a month, she still suffered from withdrawals in the form of occasional nausea and total loss of appetite. In truth, Rose had lost another four pounds this week. Weight gain was, perhaps, the least successful part of her recovery.

As if sensing Rose's thoughts the Doctor grabbed her hand, stroking the still purple mark on her wrist. "It will just take time," he assured. "We can go back to running around the universe soon but not before you are in tip top shape. In two months the semester will be finished and you should be back to health. Just two months."

"Are you getting restless?" she queried.

"Maybe, you?"

"A bit," she admitted.

XxXxXxXxXx

(2 months later)

"Hurry up Doctor. We're going to be late," Rose called as she wandered into the wardrobe room.

"It isn't possible for us to be late," he remarked. "I'm a Time Lord. I can't possibly be late. Now which suit?" He held up a blue suit in one hand and a black one in the other.

"You haven't even gotten dressed yet!" Rose exclaimed. "Go with the black. The blue would clash with my dress."

"K black it is," he said, throwing the blue suit over a chair.

"Before you change can you do me up?" Rose rushed to stand in front of him, pulling her hair out of the way.

The Doctor did his best not to stare at her creamy skin underneath the red satin fabric. He fastened the zipper quickly and looked away.

"Good. Now have you seen my heels?" Rose asked while looking frantically about.

The Doctor's eyes fell on at least thirty pairs of high heeled shoes scattered about the room. "Not really."

"Ug I can't find my silver pair," Rose complained. She looked back at him. "I thought you were going to get dressed?"

The Doctor stared at the black suit. "Rose, do you actually want to go to this staff party? I'm not even technically on the pay roll anymore."

Rose ceased her rummaging. "What are you suggesting?" she grinned.

"Well," he muttered, "I believe I promised you a trip to the beach. What do you say? You about finished with rent and friends and parties?"

"Was Mrs. Paxton going to be there?" she inquired.

The Doctor cringed. "Yep."

"Beach it is then."

**A/N: I seriously considered killing Rose but it just didn't fit the rest of the story so I was forced to let her live. I know that you guys aren't really all that upset about it. **

**This chappy actually made me cry. It was really hard to write the part where Rose sees the image of herself and the Doctor in the water. That part where the Doc jumps into bed with her cuz he thinks she is about to die is soooo sad. Wahh!! My Grandad did that when my Nana died. (He doesn't know that I know about it so don't tell him.)**

**If you review I'll put the epilogue up. Actually I'll do it either way. (I wrote it ages ago. Well…most of it.) hehe**


	19. Epilogue

**A/N: Before I start I just want to thank everyone who has read and enjoyed this story. Without you this would be just another unfinished story on my laptop. I love ya all.**

"I, Rose Marion Tyler…"

"I, Rose Marion Tyler," she repeated.

"Do solemnly swear..."

Face scrunched up in an attempt not to laugh, Rose murmured, "Do solemnly swear…"

"To never, ever, wander off on my own, meanwhile causing the Doctor to grow many grey hairs and have several heart attacks from the stress of worrying about me."

It was at this point that Rose completely lost control and burst into a fit of giggles. "I promise to briefly think about what I'm doing before wandering off," she said between breaths.

"Wrong answer," the Doctor screamed as he pinned Rose beneath him and tickled her relentlessly. Rose managed to escape and ran, barefoot along the glorious pink sand towards the ocean. The Doctor followed her into the sea and together they splashed and played in the waves until the sun touched the edge of the horizon. Finally both collapsed in a wet sandy heap on their beach towels. Rose shivered against the cool evening air and pulled a light jacket over her red bikini while the Doctor wrapped a towel around his bare shoulders.

"Rose, I was being serious," the Doctor pleaded.

"You're right," she affirmed. "You were seriously trying to take all the fun out of life."

"I'm just trying to make sure you keep your life a little bit longer," he pouted.

"Okay, I'll be more careful. No more alien jewelry for me. Speaking of which…" Rose fiddled with her left hand for a moment, pulling off Mrs. Smith's wedding ring. "You'll be wanting this back."

The Doctor stared at the ring, completely stunned. He glanced down at his own hand to find Mr. Smith's ring still firmly in place. "Keep it," he said, secretly cringing at the squeak in his voice.

"Don't be silly Doctor," Rose laughed. "What am I going to do with this type of ring?"

"I dunno," the Doctor stammered. "You could…um…always wear it, you know that is what it's for." _Oh this isn't going right,_ he mused.

Rose looked at him like he'd gone completely of his rocker. "I can't wear it," she insisted. "How will I find a nice bloke then? They'd all think I was married…to you probably." Apparently this was a hilarious concept because Rose threw her head back in laughter. The Doctor pretended to join in but inwardly thinking something along the lines of_ 'Well that's kinda the point'._ When the giggles finally subsided, Rose said, "I'll just go fill up our drinks. Be back in a sec."

The Doctor nodded and watched her go, a mixture of hurt and confusion written all over his face. After making sure that Rose was completely out of sight, the Doctor reached for his coat and pulled a small velvet box out of the pocket. Reluctantly, he pulled the wedding band off his own finger and placed it and the one Rose had worn in the box next to a brilliant diamond engagement ring. Finally he sighed, shook his head and after closing the box he placed it carefully in a never-ending pocket of forgotten items.

**A/N: I know it was short but it's only an epilogue after all. Yah! It's finally finished. To celebrate its completion I am going to go into a nice long rant. After writing that whole thing I deserve to put my words down for a few minutes. If you don't wanna read this, fine. Plz click the blue button on your way out. Thank you.**

**Now I have a number of questions for you.**

**1. What did you think of the ending? I did say you might want to chase me with a big stick. Hehe**

**2. What was your favorite part of my epic tale? Personally I liked the whole river sequence. Oh and the little row they had.**

**3. Overall, was it good? Bad? In between? Should I bother writing more stories?**

**4. Sequel? I'm not opposed to doing one it's just I don't really have one in mind. I don't think there is room for one. I tied up all the loose ends quite nicely. (Well except for that big one at the end.) What do you think? Is it better if I just leave it as is? Any and all ideas are welcome.**

**Plz, plz leave a nice long review, even if you have never left one before. I really want to know what you think. Oh and I promise to answer any and all questions.**


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